Dubai: Three stations on the Dubai Metro Red Line are being upgraded to expand the facilities and cope with the increasing number of mass transport riders.
Dubai's Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) announced on Saturday that around 40 per cent of the upgradation in the three Metro stations has already been completed. Mattar Mohammed Al Tayer, Director-General and Chairman of the Board of Executive Directors of RTA, said the three stations on the Dubai Metro Red Line that are currently being upgraded are Dubai Internet City, Damac Properties and UAE Exchange.
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“The improvement of stations along with the surrounding infrastructure aims to bring happiness to customers and enhance the experience of pedestrians and cyclists, besides providing safe and smooth mobility for people of determination,” he added.
The project works include the construction of an additional Western entrance at Dubai Internet City Station and improving the link between Damac Properties Station and Dubai Marina Tram Station to cope with the growing number of riders, especially during the morning and evening peak hours.
Integration of mass transit means
An additional Eastern entrance will be built at UAE Exchange Station to ease the arrival of riders at the station. Eastern and Western sides of the station's entrances will also be improved to provide for mass transit means and ensure easy access to Metro stations. The expansion work also includes construction of pedestrian crossings, shaded rest areas, landscaping and signages.
“This project is part of a master plan to improve the infrastructure of 40 Metro and marine transport stations by 2025,” said Al Tayer. The plan aims at improving the link between the stations and the surrounding urban and tourist destinations within a radius of 500 metres.
Smooth accessibility for riders
“It also aims to ensure safe and smooth accessibility of those areas to pedestrians, cyclists and drivers. The selection of those stations was based on several criteria such as the number of riders, number of people of determination among users, population density, geographical distribution in the surrounding areas, and the number of mobility journeys between transit means,” added Al Tayer.
Massive increase in ridership
According to the latest statistics released by RTA, the number of riders using public transport and shared mobility means in Dubai has clocked 594 million in 2019. This reflects an increase over the ridership of more than 589 million recorded by the end of 2018. The mass transit means comprise Metro, tram, public buses, marine transport (abra, ferry, water taxi, water bus), e-hail vehicles, smart car rental vehicles and taxis (Dubai Taxi and franchise companies).
The daily average of public transport users in Dubai reached 1.63 million in 2019, an increase over the 1.61 million riders for the previous year.
Dubai Metro accounted for the biggest chunk of riders of public transport with 34 per cent -- ahead of taxis (30 per cent) followed by public buses (26 per cent).
The number of passengers on Dubai Metro Red and Green Lines reached 202.98 million in 2019. Burjuman and Union stations, the interchange stations between Red and Green Lines, accounted for the biggest share of riders. Burjuman had served 12.76 million riders, while Union was used by 10.6 million riders.
