Residents give Abu Dhabi roads unified seal of approval

ABU DHABI - YouGov has revealed results of their new survey which showed more than 95 percent of residents thoroughly impressed with the quality of the road networks and infrastructure in the city.

Conducted in partnership with Abu Dhabi’s Department of Transport, DoT, YouGov surveyed 517 people of all nationalities aged between 18 and 40 and found that 97 percent of residents rated Abu Dhabi’s roads as excellent or good quality with 95 percent of residents claiming the roads were better than other countries.

DoT has played a pivotal role in the UAE being ranked first for four consecutive years in the Quality of Roads Index of the World Economic Forum Global Competitiveness Report. The survey was undertaken as a result of DoT looking to validate this accolade from the perspective of the end users, residents of Abu Dhabi.

The findings, presented by Zafar S, Research Director, Data Services - MENA, YouGov during the 26th World Road Congress Abu Dhabi 2019, shed light on the initiatives people are looking forward to in the future.

Speaking on the occasion, Khalifa Mohammed Al Mazrouei, Undersecretary of DoT, said, "The survey was commissioned by DoT as it was an opportunity for us to learn about the experience of the end users of the roads, the residents of Abu Dhabi.

"We are happy to see the results as it has shown that people are happy with our road infrastructure. We will also factor in all the feedback when it comes to planning of future projects." Results from the survey revealed that 44 percent is looking forward to using the electric vehicles when it is rolled out including 47 percent of females compared with 42 percent of males.

YouGov shared the interesting insight into how women are looking forward to the introduction of additional support and incentives for electric vehicles more than men.

In addition, YouGov also shared that older respondents are more likely to look forward to paperless transactions while Autonomous transport is more anticipated by younger respondents.

Forty-three percent of respondents said they "cannot wait" for fully paperless transactions and the integration of artificial intelligence in city and government services.

More than three out of five residents (63 percent) also said that the Sheikh Zayed Road E11 was their favourite road to use in Abu Dhabi. The road is one of the busiest roads in the UAE with hundreds of vehicles using the fully modern highway to travel to Dubai and the Northern Emirates every day.

The results are particularly significant given the DoT is ensuring they are one step ahead to deal with the new forms of transport that will change the way we travel in the future. DoT will analyse the detailed survey results and will factor them when planning for transportation systems for the future.