RTA To Launch 35 New Mega Projects In Dubai

Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) is planning to launch up to 35 new mega projects in the emirate, according to its chairman Mattar Al Tayer.

He said that the RTA will design and undertake all the transportation projects required for Expo 2020, which also include the extension of the red line of the Dubai Metro.

The public transport agency will be working to upgrade the roads and junctions around the Expo site, while sourcing up to 39 new trains by 2020.

The RTA is also planning to expand the bus network to cover 16 districts, besides improving the service in 19 districts by 2020, Al Tayer added.

Dubai’s public transport usage soared by 300 per cent in 2013 to reach 446 million from the 112 million riders in 2005, official figures show.

The emirate is further ramping up its public transport services with the opening of the Dubai Tram project in November this year, which will be the first tram outside Europe to be powered by electric cables.

The tramway extends about 10 km and covers 11 stations, intersecting with two of the Dubai Metro stations in a bid to integrate mass transit modes.

“The tram is expected to lift about 27 thousand riders per day in 2014, and the ridership is anticipated to grow to as much as 66 thousand riders per day by 2020,” said Al Tayer.

He added that phases two and three of the tram project are currently under study.

The emirate’s public transport agency has also been improving its electronic offerings with a number of new electronic services and smart apps.

“The RTA launched the Smart Dubai City Programme comprising three subsidiary programs namely: corporate intelligence, smart transportation, smart traffic and roads program,” said Al Tayer.

“The plan comprises the implementation of 22 initiatives and the launch of at least 200 smart services via smart phones by the end of 2015.

“Such applications offer a wide range of services to the public including the provision of instant information about the traffic movement through smart phones and the website, smart parking to ease the identification of vacant parking slots, smart taxis enabling the customer to book and track the cab through smart phone app and pay the taxi fare through the smart phone as well,” he said.