Dubai is planning to get tough on car owners in a bid to prevent total gridlock in the UAE's biggest city. The Director General of Dubai Municipality, Hussain Lootah, has told a business forum in Hamburg, Germany, that the level of traffic congestion in his city is unsustainable and all efforts must be made to limit the number of journeys made in private vehicles.
While gridlock is a major concern, there are also good environmental reasons for limiting the number of vehicles on city streets. Cars create pollution that both poses an immediate health hazard to people breathing in exhaust fumes and adds to the carbon footprint. Their use also discourages people from getting physical exercise.
Mr Lootah has put forward several proposals to tackle the problem. One of them is encouraging the greater use of public transport, which is laudable but problematic. The transport system in Dubai remains a work in progress. Although people living near Metro stations and the new tram line are well served, other parts of the city are not so accessible. And while expansion of the Metro is underway, it won’t reach everywhere, suggesting the need for coordinated bus and minibus services to fill the gaps in the service. Especially in the oppressive height of summer, many people simply will not use public transport unless it arrives at their doorstep, so buses must be everywhere.
In comparison with other big cities, Dubai’s parking fees and the Salik toll fees are far too cheap. One way to address this would be to meter the costs so that motorists pay more, or less, depending on the traffic volume and time of day. A similar system to this is in operation in Singapore and works successfully, albeit that it is backed by an impressive public transport infrastructure.
If you want to drive or park in peak hours, you will have to pay more. And, as controversial as it may be in an oil-rich nation, the price of petrol and other costs associated with car ownership, such as insurance, may have to rise to a point where people really do reconsider the benefits of car ownership. Traffic congestion is a fact of life in Dubai and will remain so until enough people stop using their own vehicles, at least some of the time. Gridlock and all its associated frustrations will persist until the advantages of leaving the car behind outweigh the convenience of private travel. And that may only be achieved by hurting people in the pocket.
