More bus, taxi lanes in Deira from April

Dubai: The Second phase of dedicated bus and taxi lanes will be launched in the Deira area in April a senior official said.

"Phase two of the dedicated bus and taxi lanes will include parts of the Naif Road and Al Ittihad Road," Mattar Al Tayer, Chairman of the Board and Executive Director of the Dubai Roads and Transport Authority (RTA), said.

The RTA launched the first phase of the special bus and taxi lanes with a total of 5.6 kilometres in May last year in Bur Dubai and a part of Deira.

Al Tayer said the launch of the second phase is in response to the huge success of the first phase as it not only helped improve bus time but also helped reduce operational cost. Surveys and studies conducted by the RTA covering more than 1,000 users and drivers of public buses and taxis showed that 77 per cent of them responded that they wished to have the project expanded to include other road in Dubai.

Some 75 per cent of respondents confirmed that the scheme would help shorten the journey time and 86 per cent of bus drivers expressed their satisfaction with the scheme stressing that it would help slash the journey time and boost public transport ridership.

Areas

The special lanes will include one kilometre stretch of Naif Road from Al Musalla Road to Al Khaleej Road, and one kilometre stretch of Al Ittihad Road from Sharjah towards Dubai from Al Tawuun Interchange on Sharjah-Dubai borders to Al Nahda Interchange on Cairo Street towards Al Mamzar area.

"Private motorists are not be allowed to drive on the dedicated bus and taxi lanes round-the-clock," he made it clear. The fine for violators is Dh600. Private motorists are, however, allowed to use the dedicated lanes just to access and exit from side roads or to take turn.

Do you think this will help reduce journey times for buses? Will this encourage more people to use public transportation? Tell us what you think by posting a comment below.