UAE: Metro captures residents' hearts

The latest figures released by the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) show that Dubai residents are gradually embracing the swanky new rail line that it hopes will eventually become an alternative mode of transportation for Dubai's residents.

During the first few months of operation it was not uncommon to see a majority of Dubai Metro riders continuously taking pictures and only stopping at the interchange stations to take a train back to where they came from.

Metro parking lots were packed with cars and some even saw lineups. Metro stations were overwhelmed by the number of visitors crowding to get in.

Those, it emerged, were the "joy riders", those residents and tourists who wanted to experience Dubai on a train and snap some pictures of the city's glittering skyline from the height at which it operates.

While the initial numbers might have given a deceiving image about the usage of the Metro, that has almost completely changed since.

Riding the Metro now, one will see suited businessmen and women with briefcases in their hands, young teens with earphones on, a fairly large number of those working in the service sector, and the occasional kandura or two.

With only 10 of the 29 stations on one of its two lines open, Dubai Metro has surprised sceptics.

Fascination

In its first two days, almost 110,000 people used the Metro. Nearly six million people travelled on the Metro in three months since its ceremonial launch on September 9. To put things in perspective, Dubai's population is 1.2 million, and the UAE's population is 4.4 million.

In fact, the number of commuters on the fully automated Metro has gradually risen every month despite the number of initial "joy riders". In September a total of 1.19 million commuters used the Metro.

In October the number rose to 1.76 million passengers and in November it reached 1.9 million.

Come February, those numbers are expected to shoot up further, as the opening of 19 more stations is expected to make more people and places connected.

Not only could Dubai Metro change the way people in Dubai commute, it could also change the face of the city's roads.

Residents continue to be fascinated at the sight of a train zooming beside the city's skyscrapers, and could soon see futuristic hoardings showing live scrolling advertisements on ring-shaped LCD screens, that will be built around pedestrian bridges.

Flourishing businesses

Businesses around Metro stations and along the metro lines could flourish and new businesses could start, as happens when new highways are made to link two areas.

Barren areas between two links could in the near future become suitable areas to live in due to their proximity to a vital mode of transportation.

Dubai Metro has also proven to be one of the few places where Dubai residents from all walks of life can be seen together, often making small talk — which observers say can be a unique experience in learning from the different cultures that make the city.

The Green Line, the RTA has said, will be launched in the second half of this year.

Once it opens, Dubai Metro will become the longest automated metro network in the world, breaking Vancouver's Skytrain record of 17 kilometres by three kilometres.

The question on residents' minds, however, is whether the opening of the Green Line will reduce traffic.

While the frequent use of the Metro so far has had many pleasantly surprised, residents have said that its effect on traffic is yet to be seen.

The new Salik toll gates that have reportedly been planned could perhaps encourage more commuters to turn to the Metro instead of their polluting cars.