Two stations added to Water Taxi at Rixos The Palm, Dubai Marina Mall

Two stations added to Water Taxi at Rixos The Palm, Dubai Marina Mall The Roads & Transport Authority – Manal Khalid: The Public Transport Agency at the Roads & Transport Authority (RTA) has boosted its Water Taxi stations list by adding two new stations at Rixos The Palm Hotel, and Dubai Marina Mall; bringing the total number of stations to 25. Essa abdul Rahman al Dosari, The CEO of RTA Public Transport Agency, said: "Adding two new stations to the Water Taxi's route fulfils the vision the Agency is seeking to realize in expanding the reach of mass transit systems in general and marine transport in particular in order to make them the first mobility choice of the entire community members. This is particularly relevant as the Water Taxi has affordable fares, offers full privacy for passengers, and has a capacity to house up to 10 passengers. Besides that it offers a dedicated compartment for special needs, luxurious setting, and stunning panoramic water view away from roads congestion hassles. "The Agency opted to communicate with the community in a bid to provide mass transit services for individuals by coordinating with selected entities the provision of designated places in mass transit modes; be it marine modes or public buses, based on the numbers of peoples visiting these places, accessibility to such places, and the need for the provision of all transit means. The selection of Station 56 of the Rixos The Palm Hotel, and Station 57 of the Dubai Marina Mall was prompted by the huge number of visitors received by these two places, and the Agency's endeavours to scale up the transit routes in Dubai in the near future," he elaborated. In a related development, Al Dosari noted that the RTA was keen on achieving multi-modal integration of all mass transit means by integrating all the metro stations on the Red and Green Lines with the marine transit stations and public buses such as integrating the Dubai Marina Mall marine station with both Dubai Marina and Jumeirah Lakes Towers Metro Stations, integrating Al Ghubaiba marine station with Al Ghubaiba Metro Station & Al Ghubaiba Bus Station, and integrating Al Fuhaidi Metro Station with Al Fuhaidi Water Taxi Station. It is worth-mentioning that the fares of transiting aboard the Water Taxi from a station to another are fully published in the fares schedules approved by the Dubai Government. The Water Taxi also offers tours as it can be hired for one hour or chartered for a full day at a rate of 400 dirham per hour per boat. The fares list can be viewed through RTA's portal (www.rta.ae) or by calling the Call Center at 800 9090.

RTA inaugurates Water Taxi tomorrow Wednesday

RTA inaugurates Water Taxi tomorrow Wednesday

Al Tayer: "Fare ranges between AED50 to AED570 for regular trips and AED400 per hour for tourist journey"

Serves 18 stations on Dubai Creek and tourist spots


HE Mattar Al Tayer, Chairman of the Board and Executive Director of the RTA announced the operation of five "Water Taxis" as of tomorrow Wednesday. The service will be provided on demand from 10:00 am to 10:00 pm by calling toll free number 8009090, and waiting at the station agreed to ride on board the Water Taxi. As for the alighting process, it will be at the discretion of the rider at any locations of the Water Taxi stations. The Water Taxi can be also rented for sightseeing purposes at Dubai Creek and tourist spots.

"The Water Taxi faring depends on the length and type of trip, as the tourist trip fares at AED 400 per hour for one Water Taxi. While the regular journey ranges between the AED 50 to the nearest stations namely the Dubai Creek Park (A, B), the fare will be up to AED570 for the trip between the two farthest stations namely the stations of Dubai Festival City and the Jebel Ali Hotel and Spa for Boating and Yachting," said Al Tayer.

"The Water taxi service covers 18 locations on the Dubai Creek and tourist spots of the Emirate that are linked with the hotels, marine clubs and tourist locations including the stations of Al Mamzar, Deira Old Souq, Al Sabkha, Bani Yas, Dubai Festival City, Al Shindagha, Bur Dubai, Al Fheidi, Al Seef, Dubai Creek Park (A,B), Al Boom Tourist Village, Open Jumeirah Beach, Jumeirah Beach Park, Jumeirah Beach Hotel, Dubai Marina, Jebel Ali Hotel and Spa, Atlantis Hotel, pointing out that the number of locations would increase by adding new ones in the next period such as Meridian Mina Seyahi Hotel and Royal Mirage Hotel," he added.

Al Tayer further explained that the Water Taxi is characterized by its sleek design, which combines the traditional form with the modernity represented by the ceiling that is derived from the design of the Dubai Metro stations, and benefit from the latest technology in this area. It is made from carbon fibers, which are characterized by their strength and light weight. The Water Taxi is also characterized by its structure of "Catamaran Low Wash", and a sleek ceiling; central air conditioning and comfortable seats that look like the Business Class seats in aircraft and are equipped with LCD screens on the backside of the seats with the capability of reversing the seat up to 45 degrees as well as a special table. The Water Taxi can seat 11 passengers in addition to the commander, pointing out that taken into account on designing the Water Taxi the requirements fulfillment of persons with special needs, where 20% of the seats has been dedicated for this category; the seats are foldable to provide sufficient space to facilitate entry and exit of the wheelchair smoothly without any obstruction in addition to stability safely in the cabin.

He said that the Water Taxi is 11 meters long and 4 meters wide, while their weight is 9 tons and its speed is up to 35 knots. It is characterized by two eco-friendly engines at 270 horsepower. Its also equipped with the best navigational devices approved by the (IMO), not to mention the application of the world's highest safety criteria (SOLAS).

Al Tayer further stated that the Water Taxi project comes within the overall study and strategic plan stipulated by the RTA to develop the marine transport systems in Dubai so as to meet the needs and wishes of large social cross-sections and cover up new areas, pointing out that the number of marine transport commuters including the Abras and Water Bus, reached last year around 17 millions, as the Abras transit on daily basis around 50 thousand commuters and the Water Bus transits on daily basis around 1500 commuters.


Photos:
- Matar Al Tayer
- Explanatory Chart of Water Taxi on Dubai Creek and tourist spots.