Cheap Metro fares set to reduce road use - expert

Professionals lured by cheap travel will consider leaving their cars at home and commuting to work on the Dubai Metro, a transport expert has claimed.

According to some commentators, the $4.2bn metro, which opens in September, will struggle to attract businesspeople used to driving across the emirate.

But Gautam Bellur, associate partner in Oliver Wyman's transportation practice, said the cheap fares for travelling across any of the network’s five zones would make professionals think twice about driving.

“It’s about changing customer behaviour in terms of people being used to cars and not having access to a mass transit system,” he said.

“To encourage people to stop using cars as much, the RTA needed to go the extra step and ensure the price was right, and they seem to have done that.”

Fares range from AED2.50 to AED6.50 for standard single trip tickets. Meanwhile, No1 card holders will be charged AED1.80 to AED5.80 when travelling between 3km and longer distances through three zones.

While admitting the metro may prove more attractive to people in notoriously congested areas, such as Bur Dubai and Karama, Bellur insisted there would still be interest from the emirate’s high earners.

He said: “It may be the metro better captures the transport needs of specific groups of consumers – people residing in fully built up or crowded areas of the city where there is limited scope for building additional infrastructure. But I believe professionals, including myself, will be interested if the value proposition is right.”

Bellur added that while price is an important factor, commuters will be looking for other benefits before ditching their cars.

“People look at convenience and quality and trade them off to make their decision. Given this price structure customers may be more willing to trade off some of the potential inconveniences of getting to and from the stations,” he said.

“[For the RTA] making that initial impression is critical and if you say you’re going to have all these facilities and then don’t have them it is obviously a letdown. But the price has been set in a way for people to give up some of that convenience. The lower end is less than people were expecting.”

Travellers will be able to buy electronic top up cards that can be used for travelling on the metro and land and water buses. The cards will also cover parking fees, and possibly taxis in the future, the RTA said.

The metro is divided into five zones across Dubai, with park and ride schemes planned to ferry passengers to and from the stations.

In September, the 52km red line operating from Rashidiya to Jebel Ali opens, while the green line from Al Qusais to Jedaff is scheduled to go live next year.

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