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RTA to introduce 2 new bus routes

DUBAI — The Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) plans to introduce two new bus routes, one of them is scheduled for launch next week. The routes C1 and C2 would see the new articulated buses plying Dubai’s roads.

According to senior RTA officials, out of the 80 new buses purchased recently for Dh140 million, 35 would be plying the C1 route from next week. The rest would be introduced gradually on the C2 route.

Abdulla Yousuf Al Ali, Director of Public Transport Buses, said gradually all the normal RTA buses operating in Dubai would be replaced by the articulated and the double-decker buses.

The C1 route will run between Airport Terminal 1 and Satwa and it will cover places like Maktoum Street, Mussala Street, Shindagha Tunnel, Bur Dubai etc. The C2 route would commence from Airport Terminal 2 and terminate at Zabeel Park, covering Hor Al Anz, Khalifa Road etc.

With the increase in frequency of buses during peak hours, Al Ali said, waiting time for commuters would be reduced. “During peak hours, people will have to wait for just five minutes. The wait could be for 10 minutes during off-peak hours. At night, the wait would not exceed 15 minutes,” he pointed out.

Meanwhile, Mattar Al Tayer, Chairman of the Board of Directors of RTA, said by 2009, the bus network would connect 95 per cent of the city. “We are working on a plan in which people would have to walk just 300 metres for getting to a bus stop. Also, 170 double-decker buses will be plying the streets by 2009,” he said.

“The arrival of these buses is synchronized with the ongoing process of constructing air-conditioned public bus shelters in more than 500 locations. Such shelters will provide comfort and excellent services to the bus commuters, particularly during the summer season. A number of services and facilities will be provided at such shelters, such as ATM, vending machines for newspapers, snacks and soft drinks. They would be equipped with three recycling units for paper, glass and metals,” Al Tayer pointed out.