Monday, May 25, 2015

Dubai: Dubai Tram has become a preferred mode of transport for hundreds of people living and working along the tramway, a recent survey shows.

Around 25 per cent of riders use the tram twice daily on their trip to work and back home, while one in five commuters travels by the tram leaving behind their vehicles.

Gulf News got exclusive access to a survey carried out by the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) that reveals the ridership pattern of Dubai’s latest public transport mode.

“There is a steady increase in the number of passengers and we see the tram increasing in popularity as a mode of public transport. The tram ridership increases during the weekend as well as on days when there are events at one of the hotels in Dubai Marina,” said Mohammad Yousuf Al Mudharreb, Director of Rail Operations at RTA’s Rail Agency.

The fact that more than half of its users walk to catch the tram reflects the growing popularity of the new transit system.

“We keep monitoring the trend and pattern of the ridership and, if we see any particular pattern of ridership, we adjust our service accordingly,” he added.

Around 11,000 to 13,000 people use the tram daily on an average, with a third of them being tourists, and the rest regular users.

The 10.6 kilometre tramway is served by 11 trams and 11 stations dotted along Al Sufouh Road all the way to Jumeirah Beach Residence and Dubai Marina.

Al Mudharreb noted that the number of trams is quite sufficient at the moment.

“We have 11 trams now, each can comfortably accommodate 292 people and the capacity can go up to 400 people. But, ideally, we would like to have not more than four passenger per square metre,” Al Mudharreb said.

The survey showed that around a third of e tram users take the connecting Metro service daily, buying into the RTA’s idea of integrated transport system.

Not surprisingly, the tram is very popular among the youth, with around half the riders being under the age of 30.

In terms of gender, use among females (50.5 per cent) is marginally higher than among males (49.5 per cent).

Among the various nationalities, Asians, with their overwhelming presence in the city, are by far the majority users with 57.8 per cent. Western nationalities come in second with 23.2 per cent and around 10 per cent of users are Arab.

Al Mudharreb said that the progress of the tram has been satisfying and if the demand increases the system has the capacity to add more trams and increase the frequency, while changes to service timing can also be made.

Dubai Tram began operations on November 12, 2014 and the service is regarded as one of the safest in the world.

Dubai Tram stations are the first in the world to have air-conditioned stations and platform screen doors synchronised with tram doors.

The trams operate from 6.30am to 1.30am Saturday to Thursday, and between 9am and 1.30am on Fridays.

By Shafaat Shahbandari Staff Reporter

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