ABU DHABI // Transport chiefs will add 30 buses and launch six new routes by year end, including a 24-hour service to Mussafah.
Further expansion is planned next year as bus travel soars in popularity, up by 7 per cent in a year. Services to Saadiyat Island and Masdar City will start within a month, with a bus every 30 minutes. Up to 13 buses an hour will arrive at a new transfer stop on Yas Island, and three buses an hour will link the island's hotels with the capital.
"We wanted the network to serve more of the area," said Saeed Al Hameli, general manager of the bus division at the Department of Transport.
"This comes in light of increased demand by the public. People not only want more in terms of numbers of buses, but they also want more frequent service."
Passengers made an an estimated 57 million bus journeys this year; buses made more than 4,500 daily trips, moving 157,000 passengers a day. Next year the target is 67 million journeys, or 210,000 people on 6,500 trips a day. More than 120 routes are planned and the fleet is expected to increase from 379 to nearly 530.
"The objective is better connectivity and accessibility to surrounding areas … we want to serve as many of the public as we can," Mr Al Hameli said.
New services are planned for Zayed University, Khalifa City B, Al Raha Beach, Shahama and Baniyas. Al Reef will become a major transfer point with buses heading to the capital four times an hour and to Shahama three time an hour.
Routes to Baniyas will also be reorganised to reduce travel times, and all buses to Baniyas and Al Mafraq will stop at a new transfer stop called Marwan Camp. Passengers can transfer there to suburbs that have no direct bus service.
"These changes reflect how Abu Dhabi is growing and acknowledges the new areas being revitalised and developed," Mr Al Hameli said.
In Al Ain, buses will start and stop 30 minutes earlier, and the first buses will reach Al Ain city centre before 6am because of increased demand.
In Al Gharbia, bus service has increased 60 per cent this year as infrastructure work has been completed.
The biggest challenge is changing attitudes, Mr Al Hameli said. "We have to change behaviour, whether that is with policies or with education and awareness. We have to make people understand the benefits of public transport."
He expects greater enforcement of parking regulations next year, and the DoT is working to ensure bus stops are no more than 300 metres apart.
Buses will arrive at intervals of about seven minutes and will be expected to wait at each stop for two minutes.
All local buses, including the airport service, will continue to operate 24 hours a day, with night buses about once an hour.
Some local services in Al Bateen will be re-routed to avoid construction work in Bainunah Street. When Salam Street fully reopens, four routes will better serve Madinat Zayed and Al Baladiya.
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KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
Mia Man’s tips for fermentation
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KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
VEZEETA PROFILE
Date started: 2012
Founder: Amir Barsoum
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: HealthTech / MedTech
Size: 300 employees
Funding: $22.6 million (as of September 2018)
Investors: Technology Development Fund, Silicon Badia, Beco Capital, Vostok New Ventures, Endeavour Catalyst, Crescent Enterprises’ CE-Ventures, Saudi Technology Ventures and IFC
Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
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Test
Director: S Sashikanth
Cast: Nayanthara, Siddharth, Meera Jasmine, R Madhavan
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A MINECRAFT MOVIE
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How much sugar is in chocolate Easter eggs?
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MATCH INFO
What: 2006 World Cup quarter-final
When: July 1
Where: Gelsenkirchen Stadium, Gelsenkirchen, Germany
Result:
England 0 Portugal 0
(Portugal win 3-1 on penalties)
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World Cricket League Division 2
In Windhoek, Namibia - Top two teams qualify for the World Cup Qualifier in Zimbabwe, which starts on March 4.
UAE fixtures
Thursday February 8, v Kenya; Friday February 9, v Canada; Sunday February 11, v Nepal; Monday February 12, v Oman; Wednesday February 14, v Namibia; Thursday February 15, final
Fight Night
FIGHT NIGHT
Four title fights:
Amir Khan v Billy Dib - WBC International title
Hughie Fury v Samuel Peter - Heavyweight co-main event
Dave Penalosa v Lerato Dlamini - WBC Silver title
Prince Patel v Michell Banquiz - IBO World title
Six undercard bouts:
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Amandeep Singh v Shakhobidin Zoirov
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Email sent to Uber team from chief executive Dara Khosrowshahi
From: Dara
To: Team@
Date: March 25, 2019 at 11:45pm PT
Subj: Accelerating in the Middle East
Five years ago, Uber launched in the Middle East. It was the start of an incredible journey, with millions of riders and drivers finding new ways to move and work in a dynamic region that’s become so important to Uber. Now Pakistan is one of our fastest-growing markets in the world, women are driving with Uber across Saudi Arabia, and we chose Cairo to launch our first Uber Bus product late last year.
Today we are taking the next step in this journey—well, it’s more like a leap, and a big one: in a few minutes, we’ll announce that we’ve agreed to acquire Careem. Importantly, we intend to operate Careem independently, under the leadership of co-founder and current CEO Mudassir Sheikha. I’ve gotten to know both co-founders, Mudassir and Magnus Olsson, and what they have built is truly extraordinary. They are first-class entrepreneurs who share our platform vision and, like us, have launched a wide range of products—from digital payments to food delivery—to serve consumers.
I expect many of you will ask how we arrived at this structure, meaning allowing Careem to maintain an independent brand and operate separately. After careful consideration, we decided that this framework has the advantage of letting us build new products and try new ideas across not one, but two, strong brands, with strong operators within each. Over time, by integrating parts of our networks, we can operate more efficiently, achieve even lower wait times, expand new products like high-capacity vehicles and payments, and quicken the already remarkable pace of innovation in the region.
This acquisition is subject to regulatory approval in various countries, which we don’t expect before Q1 2020. Until then, nothing changes. And since both companies will continue to largely operate separately after the acquisition, very little will change in either teams’ day-to-day operations post-close. Today’s news is a testament to the incredible business our team has worked so hard to build.
It’s a great day for the Middle East, for the region’s thriving tech sector, for Careem, and for Uber.
Uber on,
Dara
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
