In 6 vital streets… Dubai Roads has completed 30% of the special lanes project for buses and taxis

The Roads and Transport Authority in Dubai announced the completion of 30% of the 14.5 km special lanes project for buses and taxis, which is being implemented in 6 vital streets: Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmad Al Jaber Al Sabah, 2nd of December, Al Satwa, Al Nahda, Omar Bin Al Khattab, and Naif Street, bringing the total length of special lanes for buses to 20.6 km.
Mattar Al Tayer, Director-General and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Roads and Transport Authority, said that private routes for buses and taxis represent one of the main enablers of achieving Dubai’s goals for sustainable transportation, as they contribute to making public transportation the preferred and most attractive option for daily transportation, by providing services characterized by speed, regularity, and reliability.
Al Tayer added: “The project is one of the most important global practices and successful transportation policies that help motivate residents to use public transportation instead of private vehicles. It aims to reduce travel time, increase compliance with bus schedules, encourage community members to use public transportation, improve the rate of arrival of taxis, reduce direct and indirect operational costs, achieve integration between different means of transportation, and reduce the percentage of environmentally polluting emissions, in order to achieve the strategic goal of integrating Dubai, improving the quality of life, achieving happiness for public transportation users, and enhancing Dubai’s position as a leading city.” globally in ease of mobility and urban sustainability.”

He stressed that “the expansion of private bus routes contributes to reducing the travel time for bus lines on designated routes during peak hours by a rate ranging from 24 to 59%, and improving the expected arrival time of buses used for the designated routes by a rate ranging between 28% to 56%, as the travel time for buses on Naif Street is expected to decrease by 59%, Satwa Street by 54%, Omar Bin Al Khattab Street by 50%, and Al Nahda Street by 38%, while it is expected that Bus arrival times improve on 2nd December Street by 56%, Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah Street by 52%, Al-Satwa Street by 48%, and Omar Bin Al-Khattab Street by 42%, indicating that the expansion of routes also contributes to encouraging residents and visitors to use public transportation buses, by up to 30% in some streets, in addition to reducing the number of buses that serve these lines.

Al Tayer explained that the adoption of the plan to implement the routes for public transport buses and taxis comes as a culmination of the great success achieved by the three previous stages of implementing the routes, which contributed to reducing the trip time for some bus lines to approximately 5 minutes per bus, with an improvement in trip time estimated at 24%. It also contributed to raising the satisfaction rate of passengers and bus and taxi drivers.

It is worth noting that the authority had implemented, in a previous phase, routes for buses and taxis with a length of 6.1 km, which included the implementation of a separate route for it on Khalid bin Al-Waleed Street with a length of 4.3 km, extending from the intersection of Khalid bin Al-Waleed Street with Al-Mina Street to before its intersection with Zabeel Street in both directions, and parts of Naif Street with a length of 500 metres, and Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah Street “from Satwa Roundabout to Sheikh Rashid Street with a length of 900”. meters,” and Al Ghubaiba Street, “from the intersection with Al Mina Street to Street No. 12, with a length of 400 meters.”