Transport and Mobility

Promotion of sustainable modes of transport

Transportation is a huge issue due to the vehicle culture in Dubai which causes sustainability, social and economic issues. One paper found social isolation being directly impacted by high use of vehicles. Due to the high temperatures in Dubai, walking distance is heavily reduced from the usual 10-20mins to a maximum of ten minutes, possibly more if you are healthy and young. This means people rely more on vehicles due to the poor public transport network.

By increasing the opportunities within the public transport sector and introducing the modern technological advancements that Dubai is well known for into this sector, new development will be able to contribute towards the future goals set by the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA), the governing body who maintain and govern the city’s transport network, as shown below.

Also Dubai is aiming to provide improvements to its cycle network by constructing new safer cycle infrastructure to improve the city’s liveability and aid in its migration to more sustainable modes of transport (Intelligent Transport, 2020). New storage solutions could also be provided to give users piece of mind that their bike is safe and secure when if/when away from home. E-scooters have also been proposed as more sustainable mode of transport to ride between districts yet further studies will need to be conducted to see if they would be beneficial to this development. Studies such as population density, private developments, availability of public transport services, integrated infrastructure, and high traffic safety records (Intelligent Transport, 2020).

Public Transport

The public bus service has more than doubled its fleet over the past decade, going from 620 vehicles in service in 2006 to around 1,520 in 2018 with total numbers of users also increasing from 168 million (2006) to 588 million (2018). This represents an 11% increase in ridership from 6% to 17% over a 12 year period which is very significant (Al Tayer, M, 2020). According to the RTA, there have been specific targets set across various travel disciplines which aim to increase the infrastructure and service of the public transport by 2025 (Al Tayer, M, 2020). These include: adding 86km of metro and tram lines; building 47 new metro stations; and providing 11 new tram stations.

Within this proposal, contributions will be applied to all modes of public transport via a new tram route with associated stations and new infrastructure; improvements to cycling provisions through safer urban routes and ample parking; in addition a significant increase in way-finding to enable ease of access between development areas; as well as the possibility to enhance the existing marines services through new ferry links or water bus activity. Future Transport Planning

Also in an attempt to enhance the city’s smart-technology based future, as well as improvements to pedestrian and cycle infrastructure, autonomous vehicle tests could be implemented, as per the test presented at the Dubai Expo 2020. By providing short, self driven journeys across new populous developments will help to contribute to the integration between safe transit and providing more sustainable transport solutions (Mehmet, S, 2020).

By providing safer and more sustainable transport solutions and improvements to the urban planning system within the city; better design solutions will be produced to create a well-established network of streets that move priority from vehicles and road infrastructure to the users of the public realm. This in turn will contribute towards to the sustainability and climatic impacts of new developments, a challenge in which will be addressed through the presented proposals.

Future Transport Goals for 2030 (Al Tayer, M, 2020)

Increase in the use of marine transport services such as the ferry and water taxis, including an increase in the network route from 55km to 158km

Increase the public transport and shared mobility mode share to 26% by 2030

25% of trips to be made by autonomous modes by 2030, running seven autonomous modes of transport by 2030

Equipped to serve a future resident population of around 5.2 million, which is expected by 2030

Expanding the bus network from approximately 3,800km to 9,006km to service to the future population

Implementing a new suspended rail system (Dubai Skypods) to initiate a clear transport network, also helped by the busy buses which are utilised for the first/last parts of a journey

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Existing bicycle storage could be improved through new innovative storage and integrated design solutions (intelligenttransport.com)

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Test autonomous vehicle presented at the 2020 Dubai Expo (intelligenttransport.com)

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Opportunity to extend the Dubai Tram System (systra.com)