Bus, taxi lane extension to cut travel time in Dubai

Commuters in Dubai can expect faster bus and taxi rides over the next few years, as the authorities plan to extend the emirate’s dedicated bus and taxi lanes.

In some areas, bus travel time could be slashed by up to 44 per cent, the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) said on Sunday.

Between 2023 and 2027, Dubai’s RTA will construct bus and taxi lanes extending 37km, bringing the total length of these lanes to 48.6km.

The extension will cover eight main streets: the Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Street, the Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmad Al Jaber Al Sabah Street, 2nd December Street, Amman Street, Al Satwa Road, Al Nahda Street, Omar Bin Al Khattab Street and Naif Street.

“(Creating) dedicated bus and taxi lanes is a successful global practice that encourages people to use public transport rather than private vehicles,” said Mattar Al Tayer, director-general and chairman of the Board of Executive Directors of the RTA.

As seen in several metropolitan cities in America and Europe, such a project has been proven to cut travel time, help bus drivers stick to their route schedules, and slash direct and indirect operational costs, as well as pollution, Al Tayer explained.

The official said bus lanes reduce travel time during peak hours by more than 40 per cent.

“The introduction of this project is expected to reduce bus journey time by 44 per cent on the 2nd

December Street; 39 per cent on the Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmad Al Jaber Al Sabah Street and Amman Street; 28 per cent on the Omar Bin Al Khattab Street; 27 per cent on Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Street; 25 per cent on Al Nahda Street; and 18 per cent on Al Satwa Road,” said Al Tayer.

It is also expected to help increase public transport ridership by 30 per cent by 2030 on some streets.

The implementation of the dedicated bus and taxi lanes plan is a huge success based on the past three phases of the project.

Mattar Al Tayer, director-general and chairman, Board of Executive Directors of the RTA

‘Huge success’

The roll-out of bus and taxi lanes in Dubai has proven to be a “huge success”, according to Al Tayer.

“Over the past three phases of the project, it saved about five minutes of journey time for each bus. This improved the bus journey times by about 24 per cent,” said the top RTA official.

Earlier, the authority completed the construction of dedicated bus lanes stretching 11.6km. These lanes covered the Khalid Bin Al Waleed Street, parts of Naif Street, Al Ittihad Road, Al Mina Street, Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmad Al Jaber Al Sabah Street, Al Khaleej Street, Khalid bin Al Waleed Street and Al Ghubaiba Street.