AL AIN // With the city's first buses ready for roll-out before Ramadan, residents said they were looking forward to having a cheaper, safer way to get around the city.
Four out of five people waiting by the road to be picked up - either by taxis or company buses - in Al Ain yesterday said they planned to switch to buses.
"For me the issue is personal safety," said Kristine Soyson, 27, a Filipina cashier at a fast food restaurant. "I would feel safer on a bus riding with other passengers than sitting alone in a taxi with a man I don't know."
Francis Espanol, 27, also from the Philippines, said he would take the bus to save money.
"I spend Dh150 (US$40) on taxis every month on average," he said.
"The buses will be cheaper for sure but I am worried that they will not run frequently.
"If the bus comes quickly I will prefer to take it over a taxi. I am not bothered that it will stop every few minutes if it means I have more money in my pocket."
However, Mohammed Shafiq, 38, a Bangladeshi mobile phone technician, said buses would be too slow for him.
"Taxi prices are not too expensive. I would rather pay extra for a taxi to not have to stop every few minutes in a bus," he said.
The Department of Transport (DoT), which is registering the first orange and white Mercedes buses and preparing timetables and route maps, plans to launch the first four bus routes in two weeks, adding another four by the end of the year.
Saeed al Hameli, the general manager of the DoT's public bus services, has said the buses will run between the outskirts and city centre, linking key locations such as Tawam Hospital, Al Ain Airport, Hili Park and Bawadi Mall.
The service will eventually be increased to 17 routes, with 350 buses running by 2011.
Unlike bus services in Abu Dhabi, which were initially free of charge when launched a year ago, Al Ain's buses will charge from the outset.
However, the city's taxi drivers said they feared that the new, cheaper option for travellers could drive them out of a job.
The drivers are already dreading the impact that the addition of 1,400 taxis to the city's current 700-strong fleet by the end of the year will have on their earnings.
Now some are saying that, if business declines once the buses begin picking up passengers, as they are sure it will, they plan to quit driving and head home.
Rida al Aswani, a 34-year-old Egyptian who drives for Tawasul, fears the worst. "The new buses will definitely affect us," he said.
"Until now, the only way people who don't have cars had of getting around was by taxi. With buses going across from one end of Al Ain to the other, people who used to take taxis will now take the bus."
He said the bus fare, which has not been finalised but has been pegged between Dh1 and Dh10 depending on the length of trip, would be cheaper than an average cab ride.
Shashi Daran, 49, from India, also drives for Tawasul. He believes the buses will have more of an effect on gold-and-white taxis than for drivers like him, who run silver taxis.
"The people who take the silver taxis are not worried about spending an extra few dirhams to travel in a clean, air-conditioned taxi," he said. "It's the people who want to save money who take the gold-and -white taxis - those are the people who will take the bus. So I don't think it will affect me too much."
Salem Hassanein, 35, from Egypt, who drives for Arabia Taxi, said: "I have seen the buses being driven in Al Ain for the past couple of weeks. Although they are still out of service, I have seen people trying to flag them down.
"Of course, the buses don't stop because the drivers are training, but when the service starts I think our business will suffer."
Mr Hassanein plans to leave if business is hit too hard. "We barely make enough to meet the requirements set by the companies we work for," he said. "This is going to be just another burden on us."
Ghulam Shahid, 44, a Pakistani, has been driving a gold-and-white taxi in Al Ain for nine years. "The buses will definitely affect business, but I am not too worried because I am quitting this job altogether and going home by Eid," he said.
"I heard that the gold-and-white taxis are being phased out next year and that more silver taxis are being added on the road, and now, with the buses, there won't be enough passengers."
ealghalib@thenational.ae
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.”
Company%C2%A0profile
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Skewed figures
In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458.
How to protect yourself when air quality drops
Install an air filter in your home.
Close your windows and turn on the AC.
Shower or bath after being outside.
Wear a face mask.
Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.
If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.
Our legal columnist
Name: Yousef Al Bahar
Advocate at Al Bahar & Associate Advocates and Legal Consultants, established in 1994
Education: Mr Al Bahar was born in 1979 and graduated in 2008 from the Judicial Institute. He took after his father, who was one of the first Emirati lawyers
Company%20Profile
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A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre flat-six
Torque: 450Nm at 6,100rpm
Transmission: 7-speed PDK auto or 6-speed manual
Fuel economy, combined: 13.8L/100km
On sale: Available to order now
SPEC%20SHEET%3A%20APPLE%20M3%20MACBOOK%20AIR%20(13%22)
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Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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'Falling%20for%20Christmas'
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Cryopreservation: A timeline
- Keyhole surgery under general anaesthetic
- Ovarian tissue surgically removed
- Tissue processed in a high-tech facility
- Tissue re-implanted at a time of the patient’s choosing
- Full hormone production regained within 4-6 months
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
Sui Dhaaga: Made in India
Director: Sharat Katariya
Starring: Varun Dhawan, Anushka Sharma, Raghubir Yadav
3.5/5
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
Dr Amal Khalid Alias revealed a recent case of a woman with daughters, who specifically wanted a boy.
A semen analysis of the father showed abnormal sperm so the couple required IVF.
Out of 21 eggs collected, six were unused leaving 15 suitable for IVF.
A specific procedure was used, called intracytoplasmic sperm injection where a single sperm cell is inserted into the egg.
On day three of the process, 14 embryos were biopsied for gender selection.
The next day, a pre-implantation genetic report revealed four normal male embryos, three female and seven abnormal samples.
Day five of the treatment saw two male embryos transferred to the patient.
The woman recorded a positive pregnancy test two weeks later.
