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Commuters feel the heat in absence of bus shelters

DUBAI — Lack of bus shelters in Dubai is one of the major causes of concern for many commuters, specially blue-collared workers who live in far-off places in Dubai and use public transport for moving around in the emirate.

With the ambitious plan of air-conditioned bus shelters of the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) way behind schedule, bus commuters said the need of covered non-AC bus stops on all the routes was very important and necessary.

Commuters complained that in the areas like Al Quoz, Al Ghusais, Sonapur, Aweer, some parts of Bur Dubai and Deira which are inhabited by a large segment of bus commuters, the bus stops are devoid of proper shelter.

Frequent travellers added that they have to wait for long hours for the buses in many places and the absence of shelters, specially during the summer, was even more agonizing.

The air-conditioned bus shelter project of the RTA, which was supposed to have been completed this summer, has been delayed due to design modifications.

Obeid Al Mulla, CEO of the Public Transport Authority at the RTA, said, “We had put up steel seats at first. But then due to the powerful air-conditioning, they used to turn very cold. So after receiving the feedback from the users, we decided to replace them with fibre glass seats. The number of seats have also been increased from six to 12.”

“In addition, there will be changes in the quality of doors too. By the year-end, we are hopeful that the project will be completed,” Al Mulla said.

An RTA official assured Khaleej Times that the conditions will be improving soon. “There would be air-conditioned bus stations with facilities like ATMs, newspaper vending machines as well as snacks dispensers at many bus stands soon. The number of such shelters will depend on the requirement of the area. In hugely-populated areas, we will install bigger and more shelters to cater to the needs of the people.”

The official added that the RTA is also considering to construct simple bus shelters at the remaining bus stands too.