Dubai: Residents lose up to 30 mins waiting for an elevator in some buildings

Dubai’s skyline may be impressive, but for many office workers and residents, the struggle to navigate tall buildings is becoming a serious time-waster. Long elevator queues are increasingly common, with people losing 30 minutes just waiting for a lift during peak hours.

At the 25-storey Grosvenor Business Tower in Barsha Heights, serpentine queues stretch for up to several meters during office hours. Dozens of office workers, desperate to get to their floors, line up hoping to squeeze into the next available elevator — regardless of its direction.

“It doesn’t matter if the lift is going up or down, we just get in,” said Rishabh, a financial consultant working on one of the upper floors. “Our logic is simple: what goes up must come down, and vice versa.”

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Creative strategies

Some office workers have even resorted to creative strategies to beat the queues. "I sometimes take the stairs up a few floors and catch the lift from there," said a real estate broker. Tala S, a Filipino, shared her own trick: "People have all sorts of hacks. I, for example, go down to the basement parking two floors below to catch the lift, even though I don't have a car."

Anna F, another worker, described how uncomfortable the situation can be. “It gets hot, sweaty, and smelly in there,” she said. “By the time I reach my floor, I have to stop by the wash room and freshen up with deodorant before heading to my desk. I just wish people took better care of their personal hygiene because sometimes it’s downright nauseating.”

Housewives in residential buildings face their own challenges. Carrying heavy groceries while waiting for the lift can be an ordeal. “I have to plan my shopping trips carefully,” said an Indian mother in Al Barsha. “If the queues are too long, the groceries start weighing on my arms, and by the time I get to my apartment, I’m exhausted.”

Routines to avoid being late

Many workers now include elevator wait times in their daily schedules. "I have to leave earlier than usual just to account for the lift delays,” said Ahmed, an office manager. “It’s frustrating, but it’s become a part of my routine to avoid being late.”

In the 38-storey Escape Tower, a residential building in Business Bay, the same scene plays out in the evenings. Residents returning home face lengthy waits just to get inside their building. “It takes me 15 minutes to get home from the office, but then another 15 minutes just to get in the lift,” said a fitness instructor who lives there. “Time is money these days, and losing it like this is frustrating.”

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