Travel Test begins a global tour with a series of articles by Nigel Tarrant, managing director of Bestchart, providers of mystery traveller services.

Public transport in Dubai has come on in leaps and bounds since I first visited back in 2006. Car is king in Dubai and with petrol around 16p a litre it is hardly surprising. Back then the road infrastructure was poor and congestion was very bad. New and improved roads plus the economic downturn has relieved this. Whilst there is still congestion it is not a patch on five years ago.

Bus services in 2006 were not as plentiful as today, mostly non-air conditioned. Tourists and business people took cabs, you rarely walked, either too hot or you had to walk miles out of your way. Roads built for cars and little or no provision for pedestrians. The only bus a tourist would be likely to take was The Big Bus Company’s Dubai Tour. Taking in all the sights including Dubai Marina which was then a massive building site. People looked on in almost shock and awe at the dozens of tower cranes building umpteen various shaped towers. The masses of migrant workers in their blue uniforms with yellow hats and white handkerchief masks working away like an ant colony. They would be lined up at the roadside awaiting their Ashok Leyland to take them back to camp, the same bus bringing in another shift. Who said building sites were boring?

That of course was the boom time and whilst many projects have finished there are some that have just stopped. Construction is not on every street corner now. The Roads & Transport Authority (RTA) have invested heavily in a new bus fleet. Air conditioned Mercedes Citaros ply the streets. Work on the Metro started in 2006, but it was not until 2007 that the majority of the concrete pillars supporting the raised sections appeared, bursting through the sand at varying heights.

The Red Line was opened by the ruler of Dubai on September 9, 2009, at 0909 and opened to the travelling public the next day. However only 10 stations were opened initially and also not the full line. During 2010 more stations were opened and more of the line was opened. Then, in March 2011, the final extension was made, with the full line between Jebel Ali and Rashidiya being open with the exception of two stations.

Most of the Red Line is over ground, with the underground sections starting after Al Karama and surfacing before Ggico. Trains generally run every eight minutes during the day and more frequently during the traditional peak hours and the evening. This line links the main shopping centres of Mall of the Emirates, Ibn Batutta Mall and Dubai Mall, although a feeder bus service is needed to get to the latter.

When the Metro was opened many changes were made to bus services and as stations and parts of lines opened more bus service changes were made. Mainly this was to remove duplication with the Metro and provide feeder services to most Metro stations. The Red Line runs parallel with the Sheikh Zayed Road, the main road between Dubai and Abu Dhabi. Where the Metro operates this is some six lanes in each direction and each station is connected to the other side by covered bridges. The feeder services work quite well and are shown on maps at each station as to where they go.

The Green Line opened on the September 9, 2011. The line will be between Etisalat and Creek, but the line terminates at Dubai Healthcare City and the last two stations to Creek are not scheduled to open in the near future, due to unfinished construction. In comparison to the Red Line there is little difference in style or scheme. Interchange between lines is at Khalid Bin Al Waleed and Union. Changing between lines is quite easy and relatively well sign posted.

The stations are bright and there is a good feeling of openness, the decor is typical “bling” with polished aluminium, lights under the hand rails and marble style flooring. All are easily recognisable by the gold armadillo style roofs glistening in the sun. They are spotlessly clean, no litter, no graffiti and considering that some of the Red line stations have been open for two years there is little sign of wear and tear. Everything is cleaned by hand, I watched with interest three people cleaning the stairs by hand, one washing, one drying, one supervising.

Every station has security personnel, mostly an army looking uniformed person patrolling the platform. But there are other personnel in black suits. The trains themselves have a mixture of two-plus-one forward and facing with side facing sections. Trains get very busy and standing on some sections is the norm, however there are few straps to hold on to and the roofs of the trains are quite high in comparison to tube trains. I’ve certainly seen a few short people struggle, although the journey comfort is very good.

The trains, like the stations are exceptionally clean and it would be hard to see any difference between the newer trains on the Green line to the older trains on the Red line. This is now the longest automated system in the world and has a number of safety features. At one end of the rake of coaches is the Gold Class, featuring wider leather seats. This section is only accessible from the platform. A women and children cabin is behind Gold Class. There is also a member of RTA staff onboard each train and they police the use of the women and children cabin to ensure men don’t use it.

All ticketing is by the Nol card – when the Metro opened all buses became cashless and a pay before you board system operates. RTA publicity says there are vending machines at 64 bus stops throughout Dubai, but there are hundreds of stops. It’s such a shame they have taken this way as it negates the use of the bus network for the casual user or tourist.

Nol cards work in a similar way as Oyster pay-as-you-go, there are four types of card. Silver is the most popular, buy for AED20.00 (£3.50), get AED14.00 (£2.45) worth of travel, top up as you wish, funds valid for five years. Fares are cheap a short hop of less than three kilometres is AED1.80 (32p) and the highest fare is AED5.80 (£1.02). Travel as much as you like and the most you will pay in a day is AED14.00 (£2.45). To travel in Gold class a separate ticket is required, there is no upgrade option and fares on the Metro are double.

There are mixed messages about public transport in Dubai. The Metro serves the airport, but there is a restriction on the size of luggage you can bring on. The website for both bus and Metro is far from easy and the availability of printed maps and timetables for buses is non-existent. Display stands at Metro stations are usually empty and enquiries about bus maps or timetables are met with an apology.

THE VERDICT:

It is such a shame that there are so many lost opportunities to grow the use of buses and combined journeys with the Metro, on what is a system that has received heavy investment and a safe and relatively comfortable travelling environment.

This article appears in the latest issue of Passenger Transport. Click here to subscribe.