Commemorative Nol Card to be launched 2 days ahead of UITP Congress

Commemorative Nol Card to be launched 2 days ahead of UITP Congress

Roads & Transport Authority – Nashwan Atta'ee:

With effect from Friday, the 8th of April 2011 i.e. two days ahead of the 59th UITP (International Association of Public Transport) Congress and Mobility & City Transport Exhibition, the Automated Fare Collection Department, Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) will offer Nol Silver Card depicting the UITP Congress’s logo in commemoration of the event to be held for the first time ever in the Middle East and North Africa. The card will have the same value of the currently used one i.e. AED 20.
Mohammed Obaid Al Mulla, Board Member of the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) and Chairperson of the Higher Organizing Committee of the 59th UITP Congress and Mobility & City Transport Exhibition, stated that the RTA had mobilized its full potentials and capabilities to make this event a success and promote it locally, regionally and globally.

Al Mulla continued: “Nol Silver Cards will also be distributed to participants in the Congress and its accompanying Exhibition to provide them with smooth mobility within Dubai Emirate throughout the days of the event so that they can have the opportunity to experience RTA’s mass transit modes and the supporting infrastructures.”

“The Nol Silver Card marking the event will be sold at all RTA’s Metro and public bus stations. Nol card is intended to be the best means of paying mobility fares in Dubai through using a single card covering all mass transport modes, hence saving both time and effort for users. The card is also provided with an e-purse for use based on pay-as-you-go system,” Al Mulla added.
Today, the Nol Card is the ideal and best choice for mobility using public transport modes in Dubai, including the metro, public buses and water buses, and can also be used to pay car parking fees.

Al Tayer inspects Jebel Ali Metro Station’s readiness to receive passengers on Friday

Al Tayer inspects Jebel Ali Metro Station’s readiness to receive passengers on Friday

Roads & Transport Authority – Mohammed Al Munji:

His Excellency Mattar Al Tayer, Chairman of the Board and Executive Director of the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) has inspected the Jebel Ali Metro Station yesterday to make sure that all systems go for the station to receive the metro riders as of today (Friday), where Customer Service staff and inspectors have already taken their positions at various sites of the station.

In a tour during which he was accompanied by the CEO of Rail Agency Adnan Al Hammadi, Al Tayer inspected the terminal station on the Red Line of the Dubai Metro and met with employees encouraging them to commit dedicated efforts and improve the customer service experience in order to win customers’ satisfaction. He also urged them to apply the rules and regulations set out by the RTA for maintaining various facilities of the Dubai Metro project.

Te opening of Jebel Ali Metro Station brings the number of Metro Stations opened to 27. The Jebel Ali Station is characterized as the only metro station built at the ground level and measures 132 meters in length and 29 meters in width and has a total capacity to handle about 11 thousand passengers per hour per direction.
The Jebel Ali Station mainly serves Jebel Ali area and in particular the Jebel Ali Free Zone (JAFZA) North and South as well as Jebel Ali Port. Jebel Ali Industrial Area is a home of about 6600 companies employing about 129 thousand employees and the number of staff accommodated within JAFZA is in the order of 40 thousand employees.

“As Jebel Ali Station is located at the terminal point of the Red Line, the track of trains in operation is extended by 9 km to reach 53 km. RTA will operate 24 trains in the morning peak hours and 29 trains in the evening peak hours at an interval between services (headway) ranging from 6 to 8 minutes in the morning peak period, and from 5 to 6 minutes in the evening peak period,” said Al Tayer.

“Through Serco Co., the Dubai Metro operator, RTA has finalized all technical testing and trials of the metro including testing the communication systems, auto operation systems, power feed, air-conditioning, on-board electronic devices, lighting systems and the integration and interfacing of all various rail subsystems and components. RTA has also completed the training of front-end and customer service employees at the stations on various systems and the staff have already been deployed at the station following the completion of intensive training courses in customer service, implementation of regulations and procedures set out by the RTA for preserving the facilities of the project, and law enforcement against offenders,” added Al Tayer.

Photo:
Al Tayer inspecting Jebel Ali Metro Station

RTA opens Jebel Ali Metro Station next Friday, Red Line expands 9 km

RTA opens Jebel Ali Metro Station next Friday, Red Line expands 9 km

Al Tayer: 24 trains deployed in morning peak, 29 trains in evening peak

Roads & Transport Authority – Mohammed Al Munji:

The Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) will open next Friday 11 March, Jebel Ali Station; the terminal station on the Red Line of the Dubai Metro, raising the total number of stations opened to 27 stations. The Station, the sole at-Grade station on the line, measures about 132 meters in length and 29 meters in width and has a total capacity of handling 11 thousand passengers per her per direction.

Commenting on the occasion, H.E. Mattar Al Tayer, Chairman of the Board and Executive Director of the Roads and Transport Authority, said: “The Jebel Ali Station is mainly intended to serve Jebel Ali area and in particular the Jebel Ali Free Zone (JAFZA) North and South as well as Jebel Ali Port. Jebel Ali Industrial Area is the home of about 6600 companies employing about 129 thousand employees and the number of staff accommodated within JAFZA is in the order of 40 thousand employees.

“As Jebel Ali Station is located at the terminal point of the Red Line, the rail track of trains in operation is extended by 9 km to reach 53 km. RTA will operate 27 trains in the morning peak hours and 29 trains in the evening peak hours while the interval between train services (headway) will range from 6 to 8 minutes in the morning peak period, and from 5 to 6 minutes in the evening peak period.

“Through Serco Co., the Metro operator, RTA has finalized all technical trail runs of the metro including the testing of communication systems, automatic operation systems, power feed, air-conditioning, on-board electronic devices, lighting systems and the integration and interfacing of all various rail subsystems and components. RTA has also completed the training of front-end and customer service employees at the stations on various systems and the staff have already been deployed at the station following the completion of intensive training courses in customer service, implementation of regulations and procedures set out by the RTA for preserving the facilities of the project, and law enforcement against offenders,” added Al Tayer.
Metro Riders

RTA Chairman of the Board and Executive Director stated the metro ridership in last January and February topped 9.3 millions: 4.7 million passengers in January (31 days), and 4.6 million passengers in February (28 days). In 2010 the metro has lifted 38.888 million passengers and the current daily average of the metro ridership is in the order of 149 thousand persons, according to the statements revealed by RTA Statistics Office.

Dubai Metro shapes into a super transit means, attracts more passengers

Dubai Metro shapes into a super transit means, attracts more passengers


Roads & Transport Authority – Nashwan Attaa’ee:

Since the foundation stone of the Dubai Metro was laid down through the launch of the project on 09/09/09, the Rail Agency at Roads & Transport Authority (RTA) had paid every attention to the provision of all facilities & potentials to provide classy services to the metro passengers whether at stations or on board the trains in order to make this mode the first choice of all public transport users in Dubai Emirate, as well as the safest, most convenient and enjoyable transit mode in the daily travels of commuters.

The Director of Rail Operation, RTA Rail Agency Ramadan Abdullah, said: “The daily ridership of the metro is currently over 140 thousand passengers i.e. in excess of 4,020,000 passengers per month. This number is quite important when we take into consideration that the period of the metro operation has yet to complete 15 months, so it says a lot to see all these passengers from all community segments, whether residents or visitors, uptake this mass transit mode; which also reflects the associated benefits that contribute to diffusion of using public transport culture among the public.

“The resounding success so far made by the Dubai Metro is viewed as a result of the sound strategies and ambitious plans developed by the RTA and implemented by unsung heroes who are make tireless efforts to the serve metro passengers and their efforts are now culminated in a public upswing to use the metro albeit being unaccustomed to using public transport modes.

“On November 1st, the day designated by the RTA as a Public Transport Day offering the public free ride on all public transit modes including the metro, public buses and the water bus for 24 hours, the metro has lifted 206 thousand passengers compared to 140 thousand passengers on normal days i.e. a 47% rise in the metro ridership. Though the RTA has stipulated that benefiting from this free-ride day is offered to Nol card holders for organizational and statistical purposes, such an increase in the ridership reveals that many people have cared to obtain Nol cards to experiment the use of public transport means including the metro; which is another evidence of the growing culture of using public transport among residents of the Emirate.

“It is anticipated that the number of metro riders will top 170 thousand passengers per day by the end of 2010, meanwhile RTA is working closely with the metro operator to cope efficiently with any increase in the number of metro riders through addressing all aspects of safety which ranks high on the RTA priorities. It also seeks to provide comfortable & enjoyable ride, and minimize the service frequency in addition to the provision of a healthy atmosphere & facilities for special needs passengers, fitting the trains with wireless internet and the provision of directional signage. Additionally, RTA provides fine services at the stations which are characterized by sizable area & fabulous designs combining modernity & tradition in a convenient and safe setting. Furthermore, the Dubai Metro, with all its stations and facilities, is becoming a point of attraction to tourists and visitors pouring in from all over the world, and is making a substantial addition to the services sector; which plays a crucial role in boosting the tourist profile of the Dubai Emirate.

RTA opens five new metro stations mid-October ,Al Tayer: Stations to open include Business Bay, First Gulf Bank, Sharaf DG, Nakheel and Jumeirah Lake

RTA opens five new metro stations mid-October

Al Tayer: Stations to open include Business Bay, First Gulf Bank, Sharaf DG, Nakheel and Jumeirah Lake Towers stations

 22 trains deployed in peak time, 16 trains off-peak time
 Service frequency 6 minutes in peak time, 8 minutes off-peak time
 28 feeder buses to link the new stations with the neighbourhood

Roads & Transport Authority – Mohammed Al Munji:

The Roads & Transport Authority (RTA) is poised to open five new metro stations on the Red Line of the Dubai Metro, bringing the total number of stations opened to 26 stations.

“Stations to be opened include Business Bay, First Gulf Bank, Sharaf DG, Nakheel and Jumeirah Lake Towers stations, and the remaining three stations will be opened upon completion of real estate and investment projects around them; as they have been especially constructed to serve these projects in which construction works are still underway,” said Mattar Al Tayer, Chairman of the Board and Executive Director of the RTA.

Al Tayer added: “Through the Metro operating company, RTA has finalized all trial technical tests of the metro; which included testing the communication systems, auto operation systems, power feed, air-conditioning, onboard electronic systems, lighting systems and the integration & coordination between various subsystems and components. RTA has also finalized the training of front-end and customer service employees deployed at the new stations to attend to various systems. These employees have already joined up their duties in different locations several days ago following the completion of intensive training courses in the fields of customer service, implementation of rules and regulations introduced by the RTA for safeguarding the project facilities, and the enforcement of law against offenders.
RTA Chairman of the Board and Executive Director confirmed that the new stations were ready to receive passengers. “22 trains will be deployed during peak time and 16 trains will be in operation during off-peak time, and the service frequency (headway) will be 6 minutes during peak time and 8 minutes during off-peak time. RTA has carried out site surveys covering the neighbourhood of all stations to be opened shortly and accordingly opened new bus routes to feed the metro stations. 28 buses are being deployed to link the metro stations with the surrounding areas and the service is set to run at 13-20 minutes frequency,” he elaborated.

Al Tayer commented on the criteria upon which the new stations have been selected for opening and said: “Stations have been selected based on the extent of population density in the locality served by each station so as to provide convenient services to the inhabitants in the neighbourhood, availability of commercial activities in the area served by each station, availability of government activities in the vicinity of each station, and the projected number of passengers at each station. Nakheel Station is one of the stations expected to be busy with commuters considering its proximity to the American University in Dubai, and the mega residential projects in the vicinity of the station,” added Al Tayer.

Commenting on the metro ridership Al Tayer said: “From 9/9/2009 to 9/9/2010, the Dubai Metro lifted 30.22 million persons and the daily ridership is estimated as 130 thousand passengers. This number is set to rise with the opening of the new five stations to as much as 150 thousand passengers, and the number of the metro users is poised to receive a further big boost with the operation of the Green Line in August 2011; which will serve vital areas with commercial & government activities and huge population density”.

“The huge investments pumped by the Government of Dubai to uplift the infrastructure of transportation sector has paid dividends and proved both successful and effective. The number of users of public transport means, including the Dubai Metro, public buses, water transport and taxis, is approaching one million passengers per day. There is also an improvement in the culture of using public transport by all segments of the community and the drive was particularly helped by the metro service,” stated Al Tayer.

“Using mass transportation brings about a host of benefits & advantages that include the physical & psychological comfort of the user, minimizing crashes, economizing on fuel & maintenance costs of private vehicles and ridding the public from the hassles of finding parking spaces for their vehicles; which has become a challenge facing most modern cities worldwide. Besides that, the use of public transportation effectively reduces environmental pollution resulting from the use of massive numbers of private vehicles,” said Al Tayer in a concluding statement.

Photo captions:
- Mattar Al Tayer
- Stations ready to receive passengers

RTA announces working time of Dubai Metro, paid parking zones during Ramadan

RTA announces working time of Dubai Metro, paid parking zones during Ramadan

Metro operational hours to extend up to 01.00 am

Al Tayer: Evening session of Paid Parking Zones starts from 07 pm to 12 am

Roads & Transport Authority – Mohammed Al Munji:
Dubai Metro service hours during the holy month of Ramadan will start from 06.00 am and continue until 01.00 am (after midnight) during weekdays, and from 02.00 pm to 01.00 am on Fridays, announced H.E. Mattar Al Tayer, Chairman of the Board & Executive Director of the Roads & Transport Authority (RTA). Al Tayer also announced a revision in the working hours of paid parking zones during Ramadan where the morning session will remain as it is (from 08.00 am to 01.00 pm), and the evening session will start from 07.00 pm to 12.00 am (midnight), thus maintaining the same number of hours set for using parking zones in the evening session without any increase.

RTA Chairman of the Board and Executive Director also announced that RTA was keen on delivering top class services to the users of transport means to meet the needs and expectations of customers. “Fixing the metro service time during the holy month of Ramadan came in response to an opinion poll of the public and metro riders about the operational timing. It also came in response to a comprehensive study of mobility movement in the Emirate during Ramadan and the working hours in the public and private sector organizations. The decision also takes into consideration the movement of people which soars after Iftar and Taraweeh prayers and continues late into the night.

“The Dubai Metro has become an important transit mode for considerable numbers of citizens, residents and tourists who use it in their daily travels across the Emirate. Statistics reveal that the number of metro users jumped from 2,373,451 passengers last April to 3,193,087 passengers in May and the number of the metro commuters kept rising to reach 3,262,912 passengers in June. While we were bracing for a drop in the metro ridership in July & August due to the summer vacation, the first week of July 2010 registered a record number of the metro riders with 130,529 commuters using the metro on July 1st (Thursday). Such a rise in the metro ridership is attributed to the vibrant nature of the Dubai city; which has become a summer destination for tourists, thanks to the Dubai Summer Festival and the promotional offers made by hotels and malls which helped transform Dubai into a summer attraction point in the region. Moreover, the Dubai Metro is expected to post an upsurge of passengers over the remaining months of the current year,” said Al Tayer.
Commenting on the working hours of the of the paid parking zones in Ramadan, Al Tayer said: “Revising the parking timing in the evening session was intended to ease the pressure on parking users in the afternoon up to Iftar time as the parking use will be exempted from 01.00 pm up to 07.00 pm, and the fees will apply from 07.00 pm to 12.00 am (midnight) in order to avail the parking space for users. The movement of the public within markets and business districts during Ramadan shifts from day time to the period after Iftar. Thus it was inevitable to take a decision that goes in parallel line with the commercial activity in the Emirate to ensure the availability of parking space for the public during and after Iftar, streamline the traffic movement in all areas of the Emirate, minimize the negative use of parking, and ensure the availability of parking space during the business peak hours of Ramadan”.

Al Tayer concluded by expressing aspiration to see more cooperation of the public with RTA efforts in streamlining the parking process, particularly in heavily populated areas for the benefit of all users.

Captions:
 Mattar Al Tayer
 Dubai Metro has become a key transport means in the Emirate

Dubai Metro ridership hits 23m passengers since Sept ’09: Al Tayer

Dubai Metro ridership hits 23m passengers since Sept ’09: Al Tayer

 130k passengers used the metro on July 1st
 212% rise in the daily ridership of the metro
 185% growth in the number of passengers from October 09 to June 10

Roads & Transport Authority – Mohammed Al Munji:
H.E. Mattar Al Tayer, Chairman of the Board & Executive Director of the Roads & Transport Authority, revealed the Dubai Metro ridership broke the barrier of 23 million passengers since the launch of the service on 09/09/09 up to the first of week of July 2010. Al Tayer also stated that the daily ridership of the Metro has reached a new height on Thursday 01 July 2010 clocking 130,529 passengers.

Al Tayer expressed his delight with these statistics which demonstrate that RTA plan to increase mass transport ridership is moving on the right track, and also reflect a transition, though small, in the culture of the community towards using mass transit systems. “People have started to perceive the benefits and advantages of using of public transport such as the psychological & physical comfort in transit, and reduced fuel & vehicle maintenance costs besides the contribution of using public transport to effectively cutting road accident mortalities, and reducing carbon emissions from vehicle exhausts,” he stated.

“The number of metro users is steadily on the rise since the launch of the service on 09 September 2009 with ridership jumping from 1.8 million passengers in October 2009 to 3.3 million passengers in June 2010 recording in the process an increase rate as high as 185 per cent. In September 2009 the number of metro commuters clocked 1,196,920 passengers and the following month saw an increase in the ridership to 1,767,879 passengers. Metro ridership broke the two million passengers barrier in December 2009 and the number kept rising to reach 3,193,087 passengers in May 2010 and touched a higher point last June by clocking 3,262,912 passengers,” continued Al Tayer.

RTA Chairman of the Board & Executive Director further added that the daily ridership of the Dubai Metro jumped from 54,683 passengers in October 2009 to 116,340 passengers last June, recording a 212 per cent rise. July 2010 recorded an all-time high figure in the daily metro ridership as the first day of this month (Thursday) clocked 130,529 passengers. This sustained growth in the metro ridership is attributed to the vibrant nature of Dubai city; which has become a summer tourist destination, thanks to the Dubai Summer Festival and the promotional offers made by hotels & malls, making it a tourist attraction point.

Commenting on passenger breakdown per stations Al Tayer said: “Khalid bin Al Waleed Station is the busiest station as the number of commuters who used the station since the start of the metro operation reached 3,145,210 passengers, followed by Mall of the Emirates Station (3,059,069 passengers), Al Ittihad Station (2,989,879 passengers), Deira City Center Station (2,102,484 passengers), and Al Rashidiya Station (1,829,653 passengers).

“The number of commuters who used the ten new metro stations of which seven have been opened by the end of April and three opened on May 15, witnessed a healthy growth of about two million passengers. Ibn Battuta Station ranked first in the number of users clocking 466,554 passengers, followed by Al Karama Station (276,817 passengers), Dubai Marina Station (231,663 passengers), Emirates Towers Station (211,262 passengers), Emirates Airlines Station (150,670 passengers), Dubai Internet City Station (149,549 passengers), Terminal 1 of Dubai International Airport Station (116,000 passengers), Noor Islamic Bank Station (114,581 passengers), Dubai World Trade Center Station (98,805 passengers ), and GGICO Station (93,058 passengers).
In its strategic plan; which is aligned with the Dubai Strategic Plan (Infrastructure Sector), RTA has set top priority to the integration of multi-modal mass transit systems in the emirate; including public buses, Dubai Metro and marine transport modes spanning abra, water bus and water taxi; which has recently been inaugurated recently. Over the next phase, RTA will seek to disseminate the culture of mass transit modes and encourage community members to use them in their daily travels.

“The huge investments pumped by the Government of Dubai to uplift the infrastructure of transportation sector has paid dividends and proved effective. The growth in the number of mass transit mode users reflects a shift in the culture of using public transport by all segments of the community and the drive was particularly helped by the metro service. RTA public transport means, including the Dubai Metro, public buses, water transport and taxis, have lifted more than 288.777 million passengers in 2009 and the daily ridership of mass transit modes topped 842k passengers. This number is likely to grow with the opening of the remaining stations on the Red Line. Dubai Metro is expected to lift about 35 million passengers in 2010, and the number of metro users is expected to pick up sharply with the operation of the Green Line in August 2011 as this line serves vital areas with commercial activities, government offices and high population density,” said Al Tayer in a final remark.

Photo captions:
- Mattar Al Tayer
- Graphic representation of the monthly number of users
- Graphic representation of the daily metro ridership in June
- Dubai Metro ridership on the rise.