Public transport has made immense strides in the capital since buses started to operate in Abu Dhabi in 2008. Yet despite notable efforts from the Department of Transport to introduce modern buses with air-conditioning and access for special-needs passengers, a crucial sector has not yet warmed to public transport: those who regularly use cars and taxis to get around town.
Persuading those people to give up the comforts of their vehicles can only happen if the experience of public transport is as smooth and comfortable as travelling by car.
That is unlikely to happen if, as The National reported yesterday, many air-conditioned bus shelters are not fit for service in their present state. Many have been found to be out of order, some are locked, some of those that are open have been used as refuse tips or have no adequate source of power.
With temperatures rising as the UAE enters the summer season, this could leave many commuters suffering from the heat. This is not good enough for those who currently use the system, and makes it harder to persuade those who don’t to start using it.
The Department of Transport has made strides in many areas over the past few years and has also recently introduced a new park-and-ride scheme to allow commuters to leave their vehicles and take special shuttle buses around the city. But more effort is needed to offer a higher level of comfort to Abu Dhabi commuters, not only by adding and maintaining shelters, but also by improving the minimum standards of buses.
When, in the future, the city’s metro and tram system is fully operational, Abu Dhabi residents will potentially have another reason to give up their cars – but only if the service is of sufficient quality.
Enrique Peñalosa Londoño, a Colombian politician and an advocate of walkable cities, has said that “an advanced city is not a place where the poor move about in cars, rather it’s where even the rich use public transportation”.
Having a well-developed public transportation system in Abu Dhabi will play a major role in reducing road congestion and traffic accidents, but can only do so if it is fit for service.