Dubai: After having the first seven star hotel and the tallest building, Dubai has become the first city in the world to have airconditioned bus stop shelters.
As many as 47 of the 1,000 planned air-conditioned bus shelters were opened on Monday in different parts of the city.
"We are going to open at least 816 bus shelters within the next few months across Dubai, and the rest will be opened by the end of the year," said Eisa Abdul Rahman Al Dossari, Chief Executive Officer of the Public Transport Agency at the Dubai Roads and Transport Authority (RTA)
"The aim is to encourage people to leave their cars and use public transport buses in comfort and to ease traffic congestion," Al Dossari told a press conference on Monday.
He said the shelters will protect passengers from the scorching summer temperatures which average above 40C.
The design of the bus shelters is derived from the crescent moon. They will have snacks and soft drink vending machines, ATMs and an integrated set of public services and facilities such as recycling garbage containers and other facilities.
Waste collection bins for newspapers, aluminium cans and general waste have also been placed at each bus shelter as part of the RTA's plan to keep the city clean and environment friendly.
The project was developed by the RTA in coordination with Dubai-based private company Right Angle Media.
The RTA will earn Dh17.5 million per annum from the project. The project of 1,000 shelters is estimated to cost Dh750 million over a period of 10 years and is being developed on a build-operate-transfer basis.
"The provision of air-conditioned bus shelters will not only go a long way to achieving this objective but it will also complement Dubai's rapid pace of development," said Al Dossari.
Raman Multani, CEO of Right Angle Media, said: "The project represents an important part of a broad strategy executed by the RTA based on a long-term plan to alleviate traffic congestion in Dubai."
Capacity: 14 can use shelters
"The bus stop shelters are big enough to accommodate passengers as they have been built after a comprehensive study," said Raman Multani, CEO of the Right Angle Media - the company involved in the construction of the shelters.
He said out of the 500 locations, some 315 bus stops in high-density areas have two shelters to accommodate higher numbers of passengers. Each bus shelter is 2.5 metres wide and 6 metres long. It is designed to accommodate 14 passengers with eight sitting and six standing passengers.
Temperature inside the shelter will be maintained at 22C and some 200 employee will maintain the shelters.
