How much it costs UAE residents to travel to work

John Winner hails a cab for work in Abu Dhabi. His monthly cost is Dh520. Mona Al Marzooqi / The National

Brian Murray heads to work in Abu Dhabi on foot - and subsequently doesn't spend anything on commuting. Irene García León / The National.

Saeed Al Darmaki drives 30km from his home in Golf Gardens to Abu Dhabi Investment Authority on the Corniche. It costs him Dh492 a month. Christopher Pike / The National

Sherlito Daya's cycle route in Abu Dhabi takes about 10-15 minutes. He spends only on changing tyres every 18 months. Silvia Razgova / The National

Elaine Van Heerden gets up early in the mornings to catch the bus to work. Her ticket costs her Dh80 a month. Delores Johnson / The National

The cost of travelling to work has almost doubled over the past five years. So says research released this week by Regus. The global workplace provider calculates that workers now spend an average 5 per cent of their annual net take-home income on their commute – a rise on the 3 per cent spent in 2010.

“In the UAE, individuals travel from their home in Sharjah, Ajman or Ras Al Khaimah to work in Dubai or Abu Dhabi on a daily basis. This has an impact on both their lifestyle, free time and their wallet,” says Kory Thompson, country manager for Regus, of the study of 44,000 business people across more than 100 countries, including the UAE. “With living costs rising, every dirham counts, yet travel expenses are accounting for a larger slice of workers’ yearly outgoings, not to mention travel time.”

The UAE is investing heavily in its public transport network. This month, Dubai Metro announced a 15-kilometre extension in preparation for Dubai Expo 2020, and the Abu Dhabi metro system should be operational by 2017.

However, many residents still drive their car to work with the present rate of private car ownership in Dubai, for example, 541 cars for every 1,000 people, according to Dubai’s Road Transport Authority.

“While we all dream of just walking a few steps between our home and our workplace, the reality looks different for most of us,” says Thomas Edelmann, founder and managing director of RoadSafetyUAE.com. “The indirect cost caused by traffic congestion for Dubai alone was almost Dh3 billion in 2013, and the use of public transportation [7 per cent] is low.”

Here The National profiles nine very different UAE commuters, from a resident who walks to the office to someone who flies from Abu Dhabi to their workplace in Qatar. Naturally those opting for a plane or car as their mode of transport have the most expensive commuting bills each month.

“Interestingly, however, the most affordable ways to commute, namely walking and cycling come with low direct cost and low cost to the society. In addition those modes of commuting even offer benefits to our health, which can also result in cost benefits,” says Mr Edelmann, who also recommends car pooling as a cost-saving alternative.

“The push towards mixed-use real estate developments, a maturing in the mindset of employers linked to encouraging more flex-work and work from home can also all contribute positively,” he adds.

Bicycle

Sherlito Daya, 30, is a sports officer from the Philippines. For the past two years, he has been cycling to his workplace at HCT Abu Dhabi Men’s College on Muroor Road.

“I live near the old Zayed University on Delma Street, so it’s a 4km round trip [85km a month]. I cycle to save money, to keep fit, and also because I enjoy it. I cycle my mountain bike on the road and haven’t had any accidents yet, but last summer I had an asthma attack from not using a mask in a sandstorm.”

Dh4.72 (Mr Daya changes his tyres every 18 months for Dh85)

Metro

Marilyne Lopes is a French physiotherapist for Kuur Rehabilitation in Dubai and takes the metro daily between World Trade Centre to Internet City.

“In the metro’s economy class I have to squeeze myself in and sometimes I can’t, making me late for work. In gold class I can at least stand with a little bit of distance from others. I applied for a special personal card to get a gold monthly pass, which is more economical. When I get off the metro, I then walk a 2km pathway to my workplace. I do take taxis occasionally, which is the quickest way but it costs me Dh45 each time – at Dh1,800 a month that just doesn’t make economical sense.”

Time taken: 37 hours a month (55 minutes each way - 25 minutes walking and 30 minutes by metro)

Monthly cost: Dh400 (Dh10 per journey in gold class)

Plane

Briton Jamie Martin, 41, flies 2,672km a month (plus 280km by taxi) between Abu Dhabi and Doha for his job at Atkins Design, an engineering and project management consultancy firm.

“I’ve spent the past three years commuting to Doha, usually leaving on Sundays and coming back to my family in Abu Dhabi on Thursdays,” says Mr Martin. “With Etihad’s multiflyer offer, once a month I get to fly business class but it’s not really worth it for the 40 minutes I’m in the air. Passport control is fine at this end, but in Doha I can spend up to an hour queuing to get through.”

Time taken (door-to-door): 32 hours per month (four hours per journey)

Monthly cost: Dh6,500 (Dh6,000 in flights and Dh500 for taxis; for every eight flights Mr Martin receives one free flight on the multiflyer deal)

Car

Emirati Saeed Al Darmaki, 34, drives 30km from his home in Golf Gardens to Abu Dhabi Investment Authority on the Corniche in his newly acquired Mercedes A45. A petrol tank costs him Dh85 and can last 500km. “It’s the most powerful and economical two-litre engine on the market because of the technology on the turbo engine. So although the car itself was expensive, it doesn’t cost me so much to fill it up. You can squeeze 330 horsepower, so it’s pretty fast.”

Time taken: 23 hours a month (35 minutes per journey because of traffic)

Monthly cost: Dh492 (A monthly commute of 1,200km costs Dh200 in petrol. Annual servicing costs Dh3,500 or Dh292 a month.)

Bus

South African teacher Elaine Van Heerden, 48, takes the bus from outside her Abu Dhabi hotel apartment to school every day.

“I buy a bus pass for the month but I can use it anywhere in Abu Dhabi,” she says “It’s basically Dh2 per ride but if you buy a card for Dh80, you score. I don’t want to drive here. There’s not enough parking and I don’t see myself spending lots of money on private cars. I’m basically not here to spend, I’m here to save money.”

Time taken: 25 hours a month (38 minutes per journey)

Monthly cost: Dh80 for a monthly bus ticket

Ferry

Emirati Jasim Al Hammadi, who works for Al Shaheen Training and Consultancy Company, travels to Delma Island in the Western Region once a week, driving 547km from Khor Fakkan in Sharjah – making his one of the longest commutes possible within the UAE. He crosses the final 22 nautical miles by ferry, which takes 90 minutes each way. “I have customers there, so I stay overnight and come back. I often need a car when I’m over there, so I usually get the ferry.”

He also makes a 660km round trip twice a week between Khor Fakkan and the military camp he resides in when he is working in Abu Dhabi.

“There are a lot of people travelling from Khor Fakkan and Fujairah to Abu Dhabi, because the capital is where the work is,” says Mr Al Hammadi. “I have a land cruiser and it costs around Dh200 to fill up the tank, which lasts for 800km.

Time taken: 93 hours a month (five-hour round trip between Abu Dhabi and Khor Fakkan twice a week, and 13 hours 20 minute round trip from Khor Fakkan to Delma Island once a week)

Monthly cost: Dh3,800 (this includes servicing at approximately Dh300 a week, nine tanks of petrol and four return ferry journeys of Dh200)

Tram

Arezu Sheikhzada, 22, an accounting student from Afghanistan, takes the tram every day to traverse the 3km from her residence in the Marina to her college at Knowledge Village. “It’s actually very good, and there’s always a place to sit. I enjoy it. But the tram sometimes takes more than 17 minutes to arrive. It should be more frequent.”

Time taken: Seven hours per month (10 minutes for 3 stops)

Monthly cost: Dh120 (Dh3 per journey)

On foot

Briton Brian Murray, 22, has walked 2km to work since he started teaching maths and physics at Choueifat International School in Al Mushrif, Abu Dhabi last August.

“I don’t have a driver’s licence, so I try to walk everywhere in Abu Dhabi rather than get a taxi – mainly to save money. Last summer when it was unbearably hot and I saw a taxi, I’d cave in and pay the Dh5 fare. But that was only under extreme circumstances.”

Time taken: 10 hours a month (15 minutes per walk)

Monthly cost: Free

Taxi

John Winner, 51 from Chicago, flags down a taxi from his flat in Khalidiyah for the 4.5km journey to the offices of Keo-Design on Hamdan Street, Abu Dhabi, for his job as head of architecture.

“It’s a nice, short commute. I frequently walk home in the cooler months but always cab to work in the morning. The walk home takes about 45 minutes door-to-door.”

Time taken: Six hours (up to 10 minutes in the taxi)

Monthly cost (when not walking): Dh520 (each journey costs Dh13, which includes a Dh2 tip)

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