The United Arab Emirates’ (UAE) Dubai Metro is considered a success story in the region, with its modern and futuristic stations attracting ridership above 15%, much higher than other Gulf cities where the usage of public transportation is below 5%. This has prompted neighboring cities, such as Abu Dhabi, Bahrain, Muscat, Jeddah, Damman, and Kuwait City, to follow suit and invest in their own rail systems.
Metros typically work well in high-density cities where demand justifies the large investments required. Highly concentrated employment also suits a system of radial movements from suburbs into the center, thereby cutting down traffic congestion. However, the design of some Gulf cities presents difficulties for the implementation of urban rail, as many people who drive live in areas that are low density and less attractive to place mass transit infrastructure.
“Metros bring a lot of comfort and reliability for the user, especially driverless systems. It’s very safe and functional and a high-frequency system,” said Jean-Christophe Chuniaud, senior vice president, international east, at Systra, the company that developed Dubai Metro after carrying out its feasibility study.
The benefits of a well-planned metro system go beyond reducing traffic congestion and include agglomeration benefits, such as better access to the labor market for employees and greater access to workers for employers. Furthermore, heavy investments in public transport are necessary if Gulf nations are to achieve their net-zero goals.
Cost, disruption to traffic during construction, and the difficulty in explaining the benefits of a system to citizens who are not the key target market are some of the challenges to investing in metros. However, a well-designed metro system offers quality-of-life benefits to both individuals and the community, as it provides an equitable and collective experience for all.
“Dubai, they have a metro … the percentage of trips done by public transport is above 15 per cent,” he said. “Then you look at all the other cities — Kuwait, Bahrain [Manama], Abu Dhabi, Sharjah — below 5 per cent.”
As Dr. Kari Edison Watkins, an associate professor of civil and environmental engineering at the University of California, Davis, put it, “the great thing about metro systems is they’re very equitable. Everybody can use the metro; you’re interacting with everybody from your community. That’s good for a community – to be doing something collectively.”
