367m passengers used public transit means in Dubai in 2012 as daily ridership breaks 1m passengers

367m passengers used public transit means in Dubai in 2012 as daily ridership breaks 1m passengers

AL TAYER:109M PASSENGERS LIFTED BY DUBAI METRO LAST YEAR

Dubai- Roads & Transport Authority: Mohammed Al Munji:
H.E. Mattar Al Tayer, Chairman of the Board and Executive Director of the Roads & Transport Authority (RTA), revealed that RTA public transport means, comprising Dubai Metro, public buses, marine transit modes and taxis (Dubai taxi and franchise companies) have lifted 367.657 million passengers in 2012 compared with 346.5 million passengers in 2011, and 323 million passengers in 2010, according to figures released by RTA Statistics Section. This brings the daily ridership of public transit means in Dubai last year to more than one million passengers whereas it was 963 thousand passengers in 2011, and 922 thousand passengers in 2010.

“The RTA is progressing in fast but solid steps towards achieving the objectives set out for it since inception i.e. providing an integrated roads & transport system that ensures smooth traffic movement, achieving the highest safety levels for all system users, and enhancing the multi modal integration of all mass transit means in Dubai Emirate,” said Al Tayer.

“The RTA has been endeavouring to provide mass transit systems to keep pace with the growth seen by the Emirate, and make them the ideal mobility choice for the public under the context of realizing one of the core objectives of the RTA vis-à-vis reducing the use of private vehicles and increasing the share of public transport from 6% in 2006 to 30% in 2030.

“The Dubai Metro, including both Red & Green Lines, has lifted last year 109.491 million passengers compared to only 69 million passengers in 2011. The number of passengers lifted on the Red Line last year clocked 71.914 million passengers which compares well with the number lifted in 2011 amounting to 60.024 million passengers, and the Green Line, which had been inaugurated on 9/9/2011, lifted about 37.576 million passengers last year; which brings the daily ridership of the metro close to 300 thousand passengers. The average daily ridership of the metro during the final quarter of last year saw a remarkable growth with the month of December clocking an average daily ridership of 364 thousand passengers.

“The number of commuters using public buses in 2012 has hit 120.774 million passengers compared with 107.407 million passengers in 2011, with a daily ridership of about 331 thousand passengers in 2012, compared with 298 thousand passengers per day in 2011. The number of commuters using marine transit means, comprising abras, Water Bus, Water Taxi and Dubai Ferry was about 13 million passengers last year, compared with 14.221 million passengers in 2011. This drop in ridership is attributed to some commuters electing to switch from abras to the metro. Abras have ferried about 12.552 million passengers last year compared with 13.8 million passengers in 2011. About 347 thousand passengers were lifted by the Water Bus, 13.5 thousand passengers were ferried by the Water Taxi, and 55 thousand passengers were served by the Dubai Ferry, thus the total ridership of marine transit modes touches 35,616 passengers per day.

“The number of trips made by taxis (Dubai Taxi and franchise companies) clocked 68,695,237 trips in 2012 compared with 62,360,000 trips in 2011; which was coupled with an increase in the number of taxi users to 137.39 million passengers in 2012 from 124.72 million passengers in 2011. Taxicabs in Dubai Emirate make about 188,206 daily trips lifting about 376 thousand passengers,” elaborated Al Tayer.
RTA Chairman of the Board and Executive Director was delighted with these indicators which show that the massive investments pumped by the Government of Dubai in upgrading the infrastructure of the transport sector has proved both successful & effective. The mounting numbers of public transit commuters is an indicative of an evolution in the culture of using public transport means by various spectrums of community members, particularly with the availability of the metro service. Peoples have started to grasp the benefits and advantages of using public transport such as the psychological & physical relief of passengers, high safety level, and reduced expenditure on vehicles in terms of fuel, maintenance among others.

Captions:
- Mattar Al Tayer
- Number of passengers using Dubai Metro on the rise
- Public buses linking all districts of the Emirate
- Marine transit means shuttling between the two shores of Dubai.