Commuters have welcomed the new Sharjah-to-Dubai bus service but say more routes areneeded to reduce traffic queues and the time it takes them to reach work. Dubai Transport is currently running more than 90 buses on the Sharjah-Dubai run.
The service, which started early this year, operates a bus every 10 minutes from Al Arouba Road and Al Wahda in Sharjah to Deira and Bur Dubai. Sultan Al Suwaidi, head of operations at Dubai Transport, said it takes a bus about 30 minutes to reach Dubai from Sharjah, and travellers can continue to Jebel Ali from Bur Dubai.
Gulf News spoke to commuters between the two emirates who said they were either unaware of the new service or felt that more pickup points in Sharjah and drop-off stops in Dubai should be included. Joe James, who takes 50 minutes to get from his home in Sharjah to his workplace in Rolla Street behind Wafi City in Dubai, said. "We need an extended network, like the kind you get in India, to make a real impact on reducing traffic."
Sonny Thomas said that since the new route was launched, the traffic volume had remained the same, however the service had helped those people who before might have shared a taxi. Dinesh Naik, whose wife travels by bus to her workplace in Dubai, said: "The bus is a convenient and reliable service. There has been around 10 per cent reduction in traffic." Naik said that some people still needed taxis to reach certain destinations while others, like himself, would continue to commute by car if their jobs involved travelling to assignments.
Bijy Cyriac felt it was too early to say how much impact the new bus service had on traffic, adding: "People need to be educated about using public transport. I would leave my car and use the bus as it's a peaceful alternative which provides time to do something productive such as reading."
The service, which started early this year, operates a bus every 10 minutes from Al Arouba Road and Al Wahda in Sharjah to Deira and Bur Dubai. Sultan Al Suwaidi, head of operations at Dubai Transport, said it takes a bus about 30 minutes to reach Dubai from Sharjah, and travellers can continue to Jebel Ali from Bur Dubai.
Gulf News spoke to commuters between the two emirates who said they were either unaware of the new service or felt that more pickup points in Sharjah and drop-off stops in Dubai should be included. Joe James, who takes 50 minutes to get from his home in Sharjah to his workplace in Rolla Street behind Wafi City in Dubai, said. "We need an extended network, like the kind you get in India, to make a real impact on reducing traffic."
Sonny Thomas said that since the new route was launched, the traffic volume had remained the same, however the service had helped those people who before might have shared a taxi. Dinesh Naik, whose wife travels by bus to her workplace in Dubai, said: "The bus is a convenient and reliable service. There has been around 10 per cent reduction in traffic." Naik said that some people still needed taxis to reach certain destinations while others, like himself, would continue to commute by car if their jobs involved travelling to assignments.
Bijy Cyriac felt it was too early to say how much impact the new bus service had on traffic, adding: "People need to be educated about using public transport. I would leave my car and use the bus as it's a peaceful alternative which provides time to do something productive such as reading."
