Making the switch to efficient travel through Dubai Metro

The first thing Arif Khan said when he first stepped foot in Dubai was, "Oh my ... look at the traffic!"

Khan, a 30-year-old Pakistani national, considered leaving the UAE due to the traffic congestion in the country.

He said: "I did not get a good first impression when my flight from Pakistan to the UAE was three hours, and the drive from Dubai International Airport to Bur Dubai was two hours.

Things did not seem to get any better as he would arrive late for work every day and end up coming home at 10pm. Khan decided to move to Abu Dhabi and took the bus to work in Dubai Internet City every day, as it was a quicker route.

Two years later he found an apartment in Bur Dubai and got his licence.

He said: "I was happy that I did not have to wait or pay for taxis any more, as 50 per cent of my salary went on transportation. However, buying a new car did not solve the problem."

Stressed out

Although his transportation costs decreased to 25 per cent of his salary, Khan faced issues such as searching for parking spaces near his accommodation, getting more stressed due to traffic congestion, and paying for petrol, Salik, maintenance and the occasional traffic fine.

The time had come when Khan could not take the traffic situation any more and was ready to leave the country.

He said: "I felt miserable and it was becoming hard to save money, which was my goal when I first arrived."

However, all that changed when Khan took his first ride to work on Dubai Metro.

What used to take Khan 90 minutes to reach his previous workplace, only took him 20 minutes on the Metro. After he changed his job, the Metro cut down his journey from 30 to five minutes.

He said: "It really changed my lifestyle. I feel more relaxed and confident at work these days because I get to sleep more and not worry about being late for meetings and disappointing clients, and it only costs me around Dh90 a month."

Khan also takes the Metro on weekends. He is considering selling his car.