Dubai begins new bus route to Sharjah

Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) has launched a new bus route between Dubai and Sharjah to meet increasing demand from people commuting between the two emirates daily.

The new route, E311, will run between Rashidiya metro station in Dubai and Al Jubail bus station in Sharjah.

“The Public Transport Agency has deployed six standard buses, at a headway time of 30 minutes to serve this route,” confirmed Mohammed Abu Bakr Al-Hashimi, director of Planning and Business Development at RTA’s Public Transport Agency.

It will pass through Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Road to enter Sharjah, serving the following bus stops: Industrial Area’s National Paints, Maliha Road Industrial Area Intersection, Maliha Road Sabah Industries, Maliha Road GECO Minerwa and Maliha Road Municipality Office, Maliha Road 2nd Industrial Junction, Maliha Road 2nd Industrial Junction, Maliha Road J&P Junction, Maliha Road Maza Signal Junction, Maliha Road Maza Signal Junction, King Faisal Road Maza Signal Junction, King Faisal Road Bridge, King Faisal Road Jumbo (Sony), King Faisal Road Adnoc Petrol Station and King Faisal Road Gold Souq (Old), and Al Jubail Station.

“The route was launched in coordination with Sharjah Roads and Transport Authority, complementing the cooperation between the two sides to serve as many as possible bus riders commuting between Sharjah and Dubai,” said Al Ali.

“The deployment of these modern buses is part of RTA strategy to promote the use of public transport systems,” he added.

Several UAE residents work in Dubai but live in Sharjah to benefit from cheaper house rents in the emirate. Hence peak-hour traffic between the two emirates is usually congested for hours.

In March, the UAE’s Minister of Infrastructure Development Abdullah Al Nuaimi stated that the opening of a new bridge and motorway and a dedicated lane for lorries on Emirates Road would help ease congestion between Sharjah and Dubai.

Al Budaiya Bridge – between Dubai’s Emirates Road and Sharjah’s Maliha motorway – is expected to open in August this year and is anticipated to handle an estimated 17,700 cars per hour.

It stretches over the 4km that is considered the bottleneck on the route.