Dubai wants to increase the number of students using school buses or shared transport to 60 per cent in the next three years, according to a senior official of the emirate’s Roads and Transport Authority (RTA). He said this is part of the emirate’s broader efforts to reduce traffic congestion and improve daily commute times around schools.
According to Adel Shakri, director of planning and business development of the public transport agency at RTA, the newly launched school bus pooling service is the first step in this initiative.
“The main reason to introduce bus pooling is to encourage more students to use the bus, reducing the travel time, and at an affordable price,” he told Khaleej Times. “We aim to have 60 per cent of students in Dubai use school transportation in the next three years and reduce congestion near the schools. This is one of the initiatives which will support that aim.”
He added that opting for this shared transportation would lower costs and offer greater convenience. “The price will be 10 to 15 percent less than the current price on average,” he said. “One of the main ways to reduce costs for parents is to encourage more people to use the school transportation.”
He was speaking on the sidelines of the Dubai International Project Management Forum (DIPMF) organised by the RTA. It was on Tuesday that the authority announced a bus pooling service to reduce congestion around schools. The initiative will be implemented in collaboration with Yango Group and Urban Express Transport following the signing of two memoranda of understanding. Under the pilot, shared buses will transport students from multiple schools within defined geographic zones.
Shakri added that using the shared transport service will not only lower cost but also time spent by students commuting to and from their schools. “I don’t want to give a certain number, but we are doing studies on it,” he said. “We want to reduce the time spent by children on commute by at least 15 to 20 percent. We are sure that with this service, we can reduce it more than that, but we are still in the pilot phase.”
The pilot project of the Yango Group is being rolled out in the Al Barsha area and will offer services to students of five schools: Bloom Academy, Brighton College, GEMS Founders School, GEMS Al Barsha National School, Dubai American Academy, and the American School of Dubai. The group has also confirmed that the service — offered to students aged 14 and above — will deliver students from their home to school within a time limit not exceeding 60 minutes.
© Khaleej Times
Twitter