Commuting from Sharjah to Dubai is about as bad as it gets

Four Gulf News reporters write first-person accounts of their adventures commuting from Sharjah to Dubai while taking four different routes.

They left Government Square in Sharjah at 7:30am on Sunday, October 3. The first arrived in 1 hour and 14 minutes; the last to get to Dubai did so in 2hours and 39 minutes.

Municipality officials deny suggestions their closing of Al Mamzar Road is responsible for the congestion throughout the city. Road planners called Gulf News to complain that "it is the motorists who are at fault."

Officials from the Public Relations Department said the road chaos is caused by reckless drivers and has nothing to do with the closure of Al Mamzar Road.

The municipality admits there is a chronic traffic problem at peak hours but says the reason is the incredible increase in the number of cars and motorists in the emirates. They said unless driver attitudes change, the congestion will continue to unabated.

For commuters travelling from Sharjah to Dubai, Al Ittihad Road is no longer the first choice. Authorities advise motorists to use other options to avoid traffic jams. There are four options between Sharjah and Dubai, including that from the Industrial Area in Sharjah to Damascus Road in Dubai or the Emirates Road, which suffers less congestion and thus offers a safer journey.

The opening of a tunnel on Beirut Road beneath the airport in March is expected to ease the flow of traffic in Dubai. Also, they said the construction of a third bridge over Dubai Creek will help reduce congestion.

Officials said more roads are not the answer if drivers do not change their attitude, which means they must be less aggressive and stay in their lanes.

Gulf News conducted a field survey in which four reporters started off from Government Square in Sharjah at 7.30am on Sunday October 3 and drove to Dubai using four different routes. Although some routes are less congested once motorists get into Dubai, drivers prefer to use Al Ittihad Road because the roads in Sharjah Industrial area are congested. To ease the growing pressure on this particular road, Dubai Municipality must come up with radical solutions and not just continue to open and close Al Mamzar Interchange.

The results of this exercise show all roads are congested and that Dubai commuters deserve better.

The reporters - drivers - filed the following accounts:

Route 1

From Sharjah Municipality to Dubai's Trade Centre via Al Wahda, Al Ittihad Road and Al Maktoum Bridge By Diaa Hadid
Distance: 21 km
Travel time: 2 hours and 39 minutes
Average speed: 7.9 kmph

Having moved out of Sharjah several months ago, I forgot the animal instincts that are required to swerve, manoeuvre, overtake and drive on the hard shoulder like a cold-blooded assassin with only one target in mind: to get to Dubai before everybody else.

I started from Sharjah Municipality at 7.30am with the objective of travelling to the World Trade Centre via King Faisal Street, Al Wahda Road, Al Ittihad Road and finally Al Maktoum Bridge. It was not long before I reached the first major traffic jam at King Faisal Square driving to Al Wahda Street.

Having been softened by life in Jebel Ali, I was a sitting duck for the sharpened instincts of other drivers in the cars around me who seemed to smell blood.

They managed to overtake my car with just millimetres to spare as I tried to maintain a sensible distance between cars and fiddle with trivial items of civilisation such as indicators. Welcome to the jungle, I thought.

My foot was the first casualty. With one foot pressing down my clutch for a good hour, it began to cramp and shake. It still hurts.

Overtaking became a vicious pastime, and the hard shoulder jostled with cars trying to break through the tight vehicle chain.

It did not take me long to learn how to ward off eager overtakers with a firm beep and hand signals for extra emphasis.

At least the radio could soothe and smooth my stop-start path to Dubai. Thank you Voice of Dubai. You gave me a news story, which came in really handy, especially after I arrived late for my press conference. Thank you, Tarek, on Sawt Al Asala, for making me laugh during the congestion.

Finally, at 10.09am, I reached the trade centre roundabout. Refusing to go any farther, I am keeping my tape recorded notes on the traffic as a reminder each time I get caught in a jam.

I have to report the main point of congestion is the mess at Al Qiyada Roundabout.

Route 2

From Sharjah Municipality to Dubai's Trade Centre via Al Buhaira Corniche Road, Al Khan Street, Beirut Road. By Ashfaq Ahmed
Distance: 24 km
Travel time: 1 hour and 25 minutes
Average speed: 17 kmph

Since I have been commuting between Sharjah and Dubai using Al Ittihad Road for seven years, I decided to take a different route Beirut Road, to drive from Sharjah Government Square (Sharjah Municipality) to the Dubai World Trade Centre.

Traffic had already become bad when I set off with Gulf News photographer Ashgar Khan at 7.30am using the Buhaira Corniche Road a route used by motorists living in the Al Majaz district. I then entered Al Khan Street at the intersection in front of the Old Expo Centre a road commonly used by motorists coming from Rolla and adjacent areas.

That was it; we found ourselves in a traffic jam right from the beginning. The intersection was practically choked with vehicles encroaching on the yellow box. My photographer colleague wasted no time jumping out of the car to take some pictures surprisingly much to the happiness of frustrated motorists who wanted the problem highlighted.

"Good job, man," shouted a driver rolling down his window.

It was already 7.55am by the time we reached Sharjah Gate Square (under Al Khan Bridge). Construction work added much to motorists' woes. The roundabout under the bridge was completely choked because no one was ready to give way to traffic coming from the left a general traffic rule at the roundabouts. We battled our way to cross the roundabout only to be stuck again on Al Khan Street in the industrial area. It was completely blocked. It took us 20 minutes to cover a distance of 1.5 km in the first industrial area on Al Khan Street to Al Nahda Square. At this square, we found three policemen controlling the traffic flow. One could only have imagined the mess, had these policemen not been there to direct drivers.

Again, it took us about 15 more minutes to cover a little more than 1 km to the Caterpillar Roundabout on Al Khan Street.