New bus to churches launched

abu dhabi — Starting this week, a new express bus service will be going around Abu Dhabi’s Al Karama area to serve churchgoers every Friday, a transport official confirmed on Monday during a workshop held for religious leaders.

Set to run from 6am to 9pm with a frequency of 30 minutes, Bus X09 will cover churches like St Joseph’s Cathedral, St Andrew’s Church, and St George’s Orthodox Cathedral.

“This is part of the initiative taken in the Year of Tolerance,” said an official from the Integrated Transport Centre (ITC).

Besides the new public transport, the workshop also tackled other issues such as parking woes, waiver of customs duty and visa norms. Government entities that were present at the event pledged to provide solutions to the concerns that were raised.

In a freewheeling chat, representatives from the Abu Dhabi Police, Department of Urban Planning and Municipalities, General Administration of Civil Defence, Monitoring and Control Centre, Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation, Federal Authority for Identity and Citizenship, ITC, and Quick Intervention Department assured the religious leaders of their full support.

Need for free parking

Religious leaders also pointed out the need for free parking, not just on Friday but throughout the week.

The ITC official explained that there is a provision for reserved parking that comes with a fee for certain categories, including places of worship. He then urged them to avail of the benefit.

Speaking to Khaleej Times at the event, Saleh Al Mazemi, director of Tolerance and National Identity, Department of Community Development, said he had taken note of the religious leaders’ concerns about Mawaqif, the paid parking system in Abu Dhabi.

“I understand that this is an issue. I will meet with Mawaqif and I will solve it,” he said.

“Also, the exemption of customs duty on goods brought from abroad to build places of worship is another request we are considering,” Al Mazemi added.

When the official from the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation took the stage, a series of questions poured in: ‘Can part-time workers be allowed to work in churches? Can a dead body be brought to church for rites?’

The official clarified that all such things were permitted but only after approval from the authorities concerned, starting with the Department of Community Development.