Companies in congested areas urged to encourage use of park-and-ride service

Businesses located in congested parts of the city will be encouraged to have their employees take advantage of the park-and-ride facility launched at Zayed Sports City in January this year.

ABU DHABI // Businesses operating in congested areas in the city are being encouraged to make use of the park-and-ride service launched at Zayed Sports City earlier this year.

The Department of Transport (DoT) said it plans to work with large companies to implement a staff “park and ride” shuttle bus service from the same site.

These include the areas around Abu Dhabi Municipality on Al Falah Street, Al Mamoura and the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre.

Alfri Stanley, 29, a chief accountant who works at one of the buildings in Al Mamoura area, said it would be ideal for their staff who could conveniently park their cars for free at the facility and take a bus to work.

“The parking situation in this area is terrible,” he said. “It’s a good option for our staff and those working around here. A small van will be more beneficial.”

To secure a parking spot, Mr Stanley said he must be in the area before 8am.

“After 8am, you won’t get parking here,” he said. “Buildings should have their own underground parking or at least provide some free parking spaces for us.”

The DoT said it would “fine-tune” the park-and-ride service by focusing on areas with a high parking demand.

“We will also increase awareness and education to attract more motorists to use the service,” a DoT spokesman said.

Initially, commuters were slow to adapt to the system , which encourages drivers to leave their cars at Zayed Sports City and ride a free bus to various parts of the city centre. The goal was to reduce traffic congestion, pollution and demand for parking spaces in the city.

“We’ve had initiatives to encourage its use and we are already beginning to see an increase due to recent changes to the route and a more comprehensive media campaign,” the spokesman said.

The DoT did not provide statistics on how many commuters had benefited from the service since its inception January 19.

The commuter buses are routed through Al Safarat roundabout, Dhafeer Street, Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Street, Delma Street, Hamdan Street and the Corniche. The routes now include the municipality and Al Mamoura areas.

“My colleagues, our customers and suppliers can’t find parking nearby,” said Rupan Chowdhury, 30, manager at Lulu Express Al Mamoura. “I like the idea behind the park and ride service but the issue is frequency. How frequent is this service.”

The buses, which are equipped with wi-fi, run 6am to 8.30pm Sunday to Thursday. They leave every 15 minutes between 6am and 8am, and every 30 minutes afterwards.

“Another concern is the distance,” Mr Chowdhury said. “If you’re from Salam Street, will you consider driving to Zayed Sports City and take a bus from there to Al Mamoura? People are in a hurry to get to their workplace.”

The park and ride service can result in significant savings for motorists in terms of fuel, upkeep of the car, and expensive parking fees at their destination.

“We’ve received good feedback from people who had tried the service,” the DoT spokesman said. “They particularly like the free wi-fi service, the route to the Abu Dhabi’s city centre and the benefits to the environment.”

Motorists had suggested the use of mini vans to ferry passengers on infrequent routes, expanding the routes to cover Baniyas, Mohammed bin Zayed City and Khalifa City, among the more remote areas in Abu Dhabi.

Other park-and-ride locations are on the Corniche and Al Mushrif Park area.

“Fewer vehicles and less traffic on the road can improve road safety for all users,” the spokesman said. “There will be less congestion, reduce delay, help traffic flow smoothly and prevent traffic incidents which causes commuters to be late for work.”

The Zayed Sports City car park, which has 600 spaces, is identified by the now-common Mawaqif black and turquoise kerbs.

At the moment, there are no plans to start charging parking fees at the park-and-ride site, the DoT said.