Dubai Metro earns its stripes

Published: 11/3/2009 9:52:00 AM

By Peter Harrison

DUBAI - Bustling train carriages, crowded platforms, the constant rattle of ticket gates opening and closing - all music to the ears of Dubai’s transport authority and proof of the success of the city’s fledgling metro system.

The Dubai Metro opened to the public on Sept. 9 to much fanfare, but also to much doubt as to whether it would succeed in a city where the car is king and searing year-round temperatures make venturing outside the safety of air-conditioning unpopular.

Almost three months and 3 million passengers later the metro, albeit a drastically cut down version of what it will become, has earned its stripes and won over many of those who initially questioned its success.

“We have an average of more than 50,000 people travelling on the metro every day,” said Peyman Younes Parham, director of marketing and corporate communications at the Dubai Roads and Transport Authority (RTA).

“These levels have exceeded all our expectations, we were expecting 30 to 40 percent less. There are problems we have experienced, but there isn’t a metro service in the world that doesn’t have some trouble.”

The RTA made much of the initial numbers using the metro in the first few weeks, but the majority were there out of curiosity rather than necessity.

However, on an early morning journey from Al Jaffiliya Station near the World Trade Centre up to Nakheel Harbor and Towers Station on Sunday one could be excused for thinking they were on any major city’s transport network during commuter rush hour.

Most seats were taken, the isles were congested and passengers were either reading a book, flicking through a newspaper or listening to their iPods.

“I have used the service since it launched,” said Shon Aslam, sitting looking out the window at the traffic as the train made its way up the side of Sheikh Zayed Road.

“After years of sitting in my car stuck in commuter traffic coming from Rashidiya, this is wonderful. It saves time, money and my health - my doctor has long warned me about my blood pressure, I’m sure it’s dropping.”

The majority of people riding the metro were from the Subcontinent and Southeast Asia, among the less affluent members of society.

Low-wage earners were the obvious immediate beneficiaries of the metro’s launch, and the RTA still has some work to do to encourage the rich to park-and-ride.

Parham said the RTA wants to encourage more Westerners onto the metro, but admitted it will take time.

The metro’s first line, the Red Line, launched with a third of its 29 stations open. The remaining stations are scheduled to open by February next year.

The second Green Line officially set to open in June next year, but sources have told Maktoob Business it will not launch until the end of 2010.

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