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Dubai transport chief Mattar Al Tayer has admitted the emirate’s metro will not work without an established bus network ferrying passengers to and from the stations.
During a press conference announcing the Road and Transport Authority’s (RTA) purchase of 518 Citea buses for AED1.9bn, RTA chairman Al Tayer said on Monday: “The metro will be starting in September; we cannot operate it without these buses.”
The deal includes an eight year maintenance contract with VDL, a Dutch company that is manufacturing the RTA’s 518 buses in the Netherlands and Belgium.
Al Tayer added the buses are part of a larger order for 1,600 passenger vehicles that was announced two years ago. Further deals with other bus companies, chosen following an open tender, will be unveiled in the coming weeks as part of this total order, he added.
“There are other companies that we will announce,” Al Tayer said. “It is not only one company; we don’t put our eggs in one basket.
“VDL is one of the best companies worldwide in the bus business and we as the RTA only deal with distinguished, international manufacturing companies that produce high quality buses. There are others [bus manufacturers], but it is not the time now to give you the other names that we’ll be signing with in the future.”
On the sidelines of the conference, RTA officials told Arabian Business that all stations on the Dubai Metro’s red line will be served by feeder buses when the $4.2bn transport system opens in September.
The 518 Citea buses will accommodate 68 passengers and have facilities for people with special needs, such as low floors, and specific entrances and seating. Air conditioning will be installed on every bus to withstand soaring temperatures, especially during the summer, the RTA said.
“Purchasing these new buses is part of a comprehensive strategic plan developed by the RTA to upgrade mass transport in Dubai and attract new commuters in an effort to reduce road traffic congestion,” Al Tayer said.
He added the RTA was hoping to increase public transport usage by 30 percent once the metro and bus service becomes operational.
Deliveries will begin next month, ending in April 2010.
