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.
rruiz@thenational.ae
SPAIN SQUAD
Goalkeepers Simon (Athletic Bilbao), De Gea (Manchester United), Sanchez (Brighton)
Defenders Gaya (Valencia), Alba (Barcelona), P Torres (Villarreal), Laporte (Manchester City), Garcia (Manchester City), D Llorente (Leeds), Azpilicueta (Chelsea)
Midfielders Busquets (Barcelona), Rodri (Manchester City), Pedri (Barcelona), Thiago (Liverpool), Koke (Atletico Madrid), Ruiz (Napoli), M Llorente (Atletico Madrid)
Forwards: Olmo (RB Leipzig), Oyarzabal (Real Sociedad), Morata (Juventus), Moreno (Villarreal), F Torres (Manchester City), Traore (Wolves), Sarabia (PSG)
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo
Power: 398hp from 5,250rpm
Torque: 580Nm at 1,900-4,800rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km
On sale: December
Price: From Dh330,000 (estimate)
Recipe: Spirulina Coconut Brothie
Ingredients
1 tbsp Spirulina powder
1 banana
1 cup unsweetened coconut milk (full fat preferable)
1 tbsp fresh turmeric or turmeric powder
½ cup fresh spinach leaves
½ cup vegan broth
2 crushed ice cubes (optional)
Method
Blend all the ingredients together on high in a high-speed blender until smooth and creamy.
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
More from Rashmee Roshan Lall
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
The rules on fostering in the UAE
A foster couple or family must:
- be Muslim, Emirati and be residing in the UAE
- not be younger than 25 years old
- not have been convicted of offences or crimes involving moral turpitude
- be free of infectious diseases or psychological and mental disorders
- have the ability to support its members and the foster child financially
- undertake to treat and raise the child in a proper manner and take care of his or her health and well-being
- A single, divorced or widowed Muslim Emirati female, residing in the UAE may apply to foster a child if she is at least 30 years old and able to support the child financially
Water waste
In the UAE’s arid climate, small shrubs, bushes and flower beds usually require about six litres of water per square metre, daily. That increases to 12 litres per square metre a day for small trees, and 300 litres for palm trees.
Horticulturists suggest the best time for watering is before 8am or after 6pm, when water won't be dried up by the sun.
A global report published by the Water Resources Institute in August, ranked the UAE 10th out of 164 nations where water supplies are most stretched.
The Emirates is the world’s third largest per capita water consumer after the US and Canada.
In Search of Mary Shelley: The Girl Who Wrote Frankenstein
By Fiona Sampson
Profile
All or Nothing
Amazon Prime
Four stars
The biog
Year of birth: 1988
Place of birth: Baghdad
Education: PhD student and co-researcher at Greifswald University, Germany
Hobbies: Ping Pong, swimming, reading
Gulf Under 19s final
Dubai College A 50-12 Dubai College B
Notable groups (UAE time)
Jordan Spieth, Si Woo Kim, Henrik Stenson (12.47pm)
Justin Thomas, Justin Rose, Louis Oosthuizen (12.58pm)
Hideki Matsuyama, Brooks Koepka, Tommy Fleetwood (1.09pm)
Sergio Garcia, Jason Day, Zach Johnson (4.04pm)
Rickie Fowler, Paul Casey, Adam Scott (4.26pm)
Dustin Johnson, Charl Schwartzel, Rory McIlroy (5.48pm)
GOLF’S RAHMBO
- 5 wins in 22 months as pro
- Three wins in past 10 starts
- 45 pro starts worldwide: 5 wins, 17 top 5s
- Ranked 551th in world on debut, now No 4 (was No 2 earlier this year)
- 5th player in last 30 years to win 3 European Tour and 2 PGA Tour titles before age 24 (Woods, Garcia, McIlroy, Spieth)
Ticket prices
General admission Dh295 (under-three free)
Buy a four-person Family & Friends ticket and pay for only three tickets, so the fourth family member is free
Buy tickets at: wbworldabudhabi.com/en/tickets
COMPANY PROFILE
Company name: SimpliFi
Started: August 2021
Founder: Ali Sattar
Based: UAE
Industry: Finance, technology
Investors: 4DX, Rally Cap, Raed, Global Founders, Sukna and individuals
Omar Yabroudi's factfile
Born: October 20, 1989, Sharjah
Education: Bachelor of Science and Football, Liverpool John Moores University
2010: Accrington Stanley FC, internship
2010-2012: Crystal Palace, performance analyst with U-18 academy
2012-2015: Barnet FC, first-team performance analyst/head of recruitment
2015-2017: Nottingham Forest, head of recruitment
2018-present: Crystal Palace, player recruitment manager