Metro users tell of convenience of ‘park and ride’ facilities

People are generally pleased with the ease of use of the Dubai Metro system but they say better service connectivity is also required.

Indian resident Mohammed Mansoor, a travel agent, takes the metro from Etisalat station to Baniyas Square station each day to get to his work in Dubai. Sarah Dea / The National

DUBAI // It’s 9am as Mohammed Mansoor, 41, pulls into the Etisalat station car park. After locking his vehicle, he hops on the Dubai Metro to get to his workplace in Deira. This is a routine affair for the senior travel consultant, who works at the Al Rais travel agency in Baniyas Square and lives in Sharjah’s industrial area.

“I have been doing this for the past five years since the start of the Dubai Metro,” said Mr Mansoor.

“It’s very convenient to park and take the train. It’s really tough to find parking in Deira as there are never enough spots. It takes me 20 minutes to drive down from Sharjah, depending on the time I leave home, and another half-hour on the train.

“Before the start of the Green Line, I used to leave my car in the Rashidiya station and the entire trip used to take me one-and-a-half hours. But since it opened, the Etisalat station is the closest to my house and I’m at work in less than an hour.”

The travel consultant said he preferred the train to driving.

“I don’t like driving much or getting stuck in traffic jams. I love reading and the metro gives me plenty of time to read,” he said.

Mr Mansoor is not alone in leaving his vehicle at the car parks built by the Roads and Transport Authority at several metro stations. The Etisalat and Nakheel Harbour and Tower stations have 3,000 parking spaces each, and Rashidiya has 2,714.

Qaizar Zariwal is among hundreds of travellers who use these park-and-ride spaces.

The Pakistani manager at a hardware firm lives in Sharjah and works in Nasser Square, Deira. He uses the trains at least four times a day. “I come back home in the afternoon around 1.30pm and return to work around 4.30pm. I leave my car once again at the Etisalat station and do the same commute. It’s very convenient and always easy to find parking,” he said.

Many believe that if the public transport and parking facilities were better, more motorists would do the same. “Definitely, there needs to be more car parks,” said Umair Uddin, a relationship officer at a facility management firm in Dubai who commutes via car and metro from Sharjah.

“To avoid more cars on the roads, this is a good solution. Travelling will be easier and there will be less traffic on the roads.

“I use the metro even on weekends, if I can avoid taking my car. It is also easier when I am not taking my family and kids along with me.”

Mr Uddin said using the metro instead of the car saves him a lot of anxiety.

“I don’t have to worry about finding parking, paying parking tickets or being fined if I forget to extend the ticket,” he said.

Although the metro has encouraged many to turn to public transport, commuters said more network integration was required.

“There is not enough feeder bus services from Etisalat to Al Qusais,” said Mr Uddin, adding that better train and bus connectivity was important.

Mr Mansoor said having car parks at metro stations in residential areas was important.

“We also need prayer rooms in metro stations and more gates at the Stadium station so people can go in and leave without much queuing during rush hours.”