The Ministry of Family and Dubai Roads sign a partnership agreement to support the “Family First” program and enhance the quality of life

The Ministry of Family and the Roads and Transport Authority in Dubai signed a strategic partnership agreement to support the “Family First” program, by strengthening the transportation system, public facilities, infrastructure, and public and private urban spaces, in a way that contributes to family stability and improves their quality of life, in line with the goals of the “National Family Growth Agenda 2031,” which aims to support and empower the Emirati family as a basic pillar of development, community fabric cohesion, and values ​​consolidation, and enhancing its pivotal role in building a balanced and prosperous society for future generations.

This partnership embodies an advanced model for integrating social policies with the urban planning system, through developing a family-friendly urban environment that integrates the concepts of “family growth” with public transportation services and means, road facilities, and urban development areas.

This partnership comes as an extension of the approach adopted by the Ministry of Family in transforming family values ​​into tangible daily practices within urban environments through thoughtful, creative designs based on community behavioral science methodologies, and the use of directional signals and visual and sensory symbols, in a way that enhances reassurance and ease of use. It also contributes to making the transportation journey more appropriate to the needs of families of all categories, and achieving a sustainable impact that supports family cohesion and enhances the quality of life in the Emirate of Dubai.

Re-engineering urban environments to support families
In this regard, Minister of Family Sanaa bint Mohammed Suhail said: “Our partnership with the Roads and Transport Authority in Dubai represents a practical extension of the (Family First) programme, and a qualitative step in expanding its scope to include one of the most influential sectors in the daily lives of families, which is the transport and urban mobility sector, which embodies an advanced institutional integration that reflects the leadership of government work in the UAE, and confirms our commitment to making the family a main focus of development policies and plans.”

Quality partnerships
Sanaa added: “Through this cooperation, we translate the goals of the (National Family Growth Agenda 2031) into concrete design and operation standards within the transportation and urban facilities system, which consolidates the family’s status as a national priority in urban planning, and enhances the integration of social policies with development projects. Cities that place the family at the heart of their planning are the cities most capable of achieving balanced and sustainable development, and we are continuing to consolidate this concept through qualitative partnerships that demonstrate long-term institutional commitment. It establishes an urban environment that makes the family the focus of daily life.”

Transportation is a pillar of family stability and quality of life
For his part, Mattar Al Tayer, Director-General and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Roads and Transport Authority, confirmed that the partnership with the Ministry of Family demonstrates the Authority’s keenness to cooperate with strategic partners, to enhance the integration of roles to achieve a sustainable social impact, and will contribute to the development of new planning standards that take into account the concepts of family growth in the design of transport stations, public facilities and urban development areas, thus enhancing Dubai’s position as a global model in human-centered urban planning.

Al Tayer said: “Dubai’s development vision is based on people first, and the family is the cornerstone of this vision. From this standpoint, the Authority was keen for the transportation system to be a major lever for enhancing the quality of life, consolidating family stability, and supporting community cohesion.”

Incentives for the community
Mattar Al Tayer added: “At the Roads and Transport Authority, we are keen to align our projects and policies with the national trends for the growth of the Emirati family, by providing a safe, easy, and comprehensive transportation system that takes into account the needs of all segments of society, contributes to reducing the daily burdens on the family, and enhances the ease of movement of its members in an integrated urban environment.”

Al Tayer pointed out that the Authority has translated this trend through practical initiatives to enhance the quality of life for various segments of society, including exempting senior citizens from parking fees, and allocating a reduced tariff for senior citizens and students to use public transportation, in addition to exempting people of determination from Salik fees, parking, and the tariff for using public transportation, and registering and renewing vehicles, in addition to reducing the tariff for using taxis and licensing drivers by 50%.

Al Tayer stressed that these initiatives reflect the Authority’s commitment to establishing the principle of equal opportunities and ensuring the integration of all segments of society into the urban life system, pointing out that cities that place the family at the heart of their policies are the cities most capable of achieving balanced and sustainable development, and we are continuing to enhance the role of the transportation system as a social and economic enabler that supports family stability and consolidates Dubai’s position as a global city for quality of life.

The Authority’s initiatives for the Year of the Family
The Roads and Transport Authority supports the “Year of the Family” with a package of initiatives, including organizing a mass wedding for the authority’s national employees about to get married, supporting productive families’ projects and stimulating home entrepreneurship, by allocating specific locations in public transportation stations to display family products, and providing the opportunity for families to reach a wide segment of public transportation users. The initiatives also include providing a mobile nursery for the authority’s female employees, by rehabilitating the public transportation bus, equipping it with educational and entertainment means, and converting it into a temporary break for the children of female employees during official work hours. on Fridays, in addition to producing digital content that highlights the values and culture of the Emirati family, with the aim of highlighting the national identity, and issuing special “Nol” cards for the Year of the Family.

As part of its responsibility towards society, the Authority provides many services and initiatives, as it allocated 243 compartments for women and children in Dubai Metro and Tram vehicles, implemented more than 12,000 requests to install wedding and condolence signs, provided more than 31,000 Nol cards to students, and issued 331 driving licenses to people of determination. The number of families benefiting from Safe Hands services is estimated at more than 490 families, and the Authority also provides a nursery for the children of female employees. It can accommodate 100 children.