New plans to revolutionise Abu Dhabi travel A controversial new scheme to introduce a road toll system in Abu Dhabi could be introduced within the next few years.
Authorities are planning to introduce the scheme in an attempt to reduce the number of cars on the road in the capital and encourage commuters to use alternative means of transport at peak times. It is part of an integrated public transport system that will cater to 900,000 people daily by 2030.
The Department of Transport estimates that the city’s population will exceed three million by 2030. It believes radical measures will be needed to persuade people to abandon their cars in favour of public transport.
According to the proposals, included in the newly published Surface Transport Master Plan for the capital, vehicles will be charged entering Abu Dhabi city to encourage people using the available multi-system public transport networks. They could include metro, trams, water taxis, buses and even high-speed trains.
Officials said the congestion charge will be variable, higher during peak hours. Car parks capable of holding between 5,000 and 7,000 vehicles would be built at the planned metro stations on the edge of the city.
As yet, no date has been agreed for the introduction of the proposed toll system. The public transport will not be ready before 2015 at the earliest, however.
Unveiling the plans, Abu Dhabi Department of Transport Chairman Abdullah Rashed Al Otaiba explained: “When the master plan is fully implemented, commuting will be extremely fast and easy. It will be [the first] integrated and interconnected transport system in the Emirate. With the web of a multi-transport networks available, people may need to walk for no more than 300 metres to catch a mode of transport.
“All the areas that will be out of metro and tramway reach will be connected with high-speed trains to help get to the city with the help of metro and tram feeders. Those in areas that are not connected with even the speed train network can take a taxi or bus, or drive to nearby railway station and park, and then take the train to the city,” added Al Otaiba.
”Since commuting will be easy to move from one end of the Emirate to another, there will be no need to drive into the city and congest the road. So tolls can be considered to prevent people taking their vehicles into the city centre and encourage them to use the available public transport networks.”
Integrated
The proposed new transport scheme will revolutionise commuting in the capital.
Al Otaiba revealed that all areas of the master plan are presently under consideration, but plans for new parking charges will definitely be introduced this summer as part of a proposed Parking Management System.
Parking charges under the system will vary between areas, with parking fees in central Abu Dhabi higher than those in more outlying areas.
Khaled Mohammed Hashem, CEO, Department of Transport, Land Transport Division explained:
“The plan includes setting up of an integrated network of highways, besides a regional commuter train running from Saudi Arabia at 300kph to Dubai.” The ‘bullet train’ from the Saudi Arabia border will travel along the Emirate’s coastlineconnecting industrial areas with Abu Dhabi city – there would be three stations in the capital – and beyond to Dubai.
Other proposals in the blueprint include taxes linked to emissions for vehicles and boats, the pedestrianisation of Hamdan Street and Saadiyat Island, subsidies for alternative fuels, and further road projects.
Going public
Metro the government is currently accepting proposals for feasibility studies on this part of the project, with work expected to start in 2011 and the first line due to be completed in2015 – a section from Abu Dhabi International Airport along Airport Road and Hamdan Street to the Central Business District and on to Saadiyat via Reem Island. A second loop links Mohammed bin Zayed City with the Capital City District. In total the plan calls for a 131km network carrying 30,000 passengers every hour each way. Outside the central areas, stations will be at least 2-5km apart; services would run every two minutes.
Trams some 340km of tram lines on two-way tracks would link the city centre, Yas Island, Reem Island, Saadiyat (which under the plans would be car-free by 2020), and outlying areas with stations every 500m and interchanges with the Metro. The first lines are scheduled to open by 2015.
Rail a high-speed rail network would connect Abu Dhabi with Saudi Arabia, Dubai, Oman and Al Ain and Al Gharbia. A secondary line for freight transport will be built alongside the passenger service by private contractors.
[Writer] Patrick Hill
[Originally published in Abu Dhabi Week vol 2 issue 13]
