Dubai: The popular bus stop at Dubai Trade Centre roundabout has been shifted close to Al Jaffiliya Metro station for safety reasons, the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) has announced.
The bus stop, which marks a vital point on at least a dozen bus routes, will be closed from Friday March 15 and all public transport buses with halts there will be diverted to Al Jaffiliya stop, a senior RTA official told Gulf News.
Thousands of people, mainly office-goers, currently use the Trade Centre bus stop, with the area witnessing a big rush during peak hours.
The RTA’s move comes close on the heels of a couple of accidents near the stop involving buses, which raised concerns about safety and traffic chaos around the stop. The existing bus stops are located right on the Trade Centre roundabout and they not only create a traffic bottleneck but also present safety issues as commuters have to cross the roads at the roundabout to reach the bus stops.
The RTA inspectors have already started distributing pamphlets to commuters at the existing bus stops to make them aware about the new bus stop.
“We understand this is a very popular stop but there were growing concerns about safety of people; traffic on the roundabout gets very heavy during peak hours, it’s difficult to control movement of buses,” said an official.
As many as nine bus routes including 21, 29, 61, 88, C15, C26, X10, X28 and X92 will be diverted to Al Jaffiliya stop, from where commuters can board the buses in a safe and secure environment.
“We have made proper arrangements for commuters, it’s just a couple of hundred metres from the roundabout and it is a convenient alternative,” added the official.
Not all commuters seemed impressed with the decision.
“I understand that there was growing concern of safety at the Trade Centre roundabout but walking to Jaffiliya will be a bit difficult during summer as I already trudge 500 metres to reach the roundabout,” said Sandhya Naik, a customer support executive.
Another commuter who regularly uses the stop however agreed that Al Jaffiliya is a safer and more convenient alternative.
