Free rides taken by 606,390 on Dubai transport

The Dubai Metro, public buses and the Water Bus clocked 606,390 passengers on Public Transport Day compared to the average of 436,700 on normal days, recording a growth of about 39 per cent in public transport ridership, said Mattar Al Tayer, Chairman and Executive Director of Roads and Transport Authority (RTA).

Al Tayer expressed appreciation for Sheikh Maktoum bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai and Vice-Chairman of the Dubai Executive Council, for sponsoring the Public Transport Day initiative. He also thanked Sheikh Majid bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Chairman of the Dubai Culture and Arts Authority, for inaugurating the Public Transport Day initiative.

“The number of commuters who used the Metro hit 205,965 compared to 140,000 on normal days; recording a 47 per cent increase, and the number of commuters who used public buses on the day was 394,325 compared to 296,000 on Sunday; showing an increase of 33 per cent. The number of passengers who used the Water Bus reached 6,100 compared to 700 on the previous days; an increase of 771 per cent,” said Al Tayer.

Hans Rat, Secretary General of the International Association of Public Transport (UITP), commended RTA’s initiative of designating November 1 as a Public Transport Day in Dubai emirate where free rides are offered on the Metro, public buses and the Water Bus.

“I’m extremely delighted with taking part on this day and I have used the public buses, metro and the water bus in transiting across Dubai emirate. What has captured my attention is the massive participation of the public as well as VIPs and other key events representing various and vital sectors in Dubai,” said Rat.

“The achievements made by the RTA over the past five years stand out as a milestone in the public transport sector not only in the Mena region, but also across the globe,” he said.

“Dubai emirate is taking the lead in diffusing the culture of mass transit systems and is ranking ahead of many advanced countries in this field and in a record time; thanks to its ambitious plans, sound, effective and clear work strategies, and accelerated implementation carried out by an ambitious work team aiming at contributing to building the future of the UAE in general and Dubai Emirate in particular,” he added.

Rat also lauded RTA preparations for hosting the 59th UITP Congress and Exhibition in Dubai on April 10-14, 2011, an event that will be held for the first time in the Middle East.

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