Dh37m eco-friendly bus station opens in Al Ain

Abu Dhabi - The bus station allows the total capacity of 62 buses per hour, distributed among buses working between cities, and local bus routes connecting Al Ain to its suburbs.

A Dh37 million sustainable energy bus station was officially inaugurated on Thursday morning in Al Ain, announced the Department of Transport (DoT). Shaikh Tahnoon bin Mohammed bin Khalifa Al Nahyan, Ruler's Representative in the Eastern Region inaugurated the Al Ain Central Bus Station in the presence of senior officials.
Shaikh Tahnoon, the Ruler's Representative, and the attending senior officials were taken on a tour to explore the new station facilities and daily operations, and were briefed in details about the station's capacity and scope of services provided to the public.
The bus station allows the total capacity of 62 buses per hour, distributed among buses working between cities, and local bus routes connecting Al Ain to its suburbs.
When constructing the station, the DoT has applied sustainable methods to reduce energy consumption and create environment friendly facilities.
Among the most important sustainable methods is the station roof, which is designed with a double cloth fabric, to cover the waiting area hall. This special fabric contains a layer of "Nanogel" that allows natural sunlight to enter, while blocking sun heat. This technology leads to reducing electricity needed to power air conditioning and therefore reducing the operational cost of the station.
The DoT has also ensured that the station architecture blends with its surrounding nature to reflect the cultural and architectural heritage of the city of Al Ain in an urbane
style. The station was constructed as an architectural interpretation of the Arabic tent with natural colors that reflect the general landscape of Al Ain Oasis. Moreover, the height of the station's roof was designed to be lower than the palm trees surrounding the area. 
The bus station is divided into two main sections, namely the building section that houses administrative offices, passengers' waiting hall, praying area and shops, and the parking section, which includes parking bays for buses and staff vehicles, along with a dedicated zone for passengers to hire taxis.
The DoT has also designed many unique facilities such as interactive information dashboards and signage, to provide a comfortable experience for bus passengers and to encourage them to use public buses as a preferable mode of transport, in its effort to promote public transportation and ensure smooth flow of traffic in the city of Al Ain.
DoT participated with Al Ain bus station project in the Middle East and Africa Interior Design and Architecture Award in 2015 for the best government building and facility of the year. The project was successfully shortlisted among the top three candidates among seventeen government projects.
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