Job Discussion Forums

helenl · Joined: 04 Jan 2006 Posts: 1202

"Professionals working in Dubai spend 2 hours per day commuting"

Dubai is officially the most congested city in the Middle East, according to the latest survey by GulfTalent.com. ... professionals working in Dubai spend on average 1 hour and 45 minutes each day in total commuting time to and from their place of work, the highest figure in the region. "

Here are some quotes from the article and the link to read the full survey results.

"Sharjah residents (only 15 kms from Dubai) working in Dubai reported spending on average 2 hours and 44 minutes for the daily return journey to and from work, much of it in slow-moving bumper-to-bumper traffic." And this despite that there are 2 express highways (whoops, make that two - 3 lane dual carriageway parking lots) connecting the two cities.

Of course, this congestion also has an affect on those who just want to go to Dubai for some shopping, recreation or to frequent some of the higher end restaurants available. Most residents of other emirates are either just not going to Dubai for recreation or on a greatly reduced basis as compared with the past. It's just too much hassle.

"The recent oil-driven economic boom, ... and the lack of a modern public transport network, have led to greater demand for private transport and a sharp rise in car ownership across the region. At the same time, spiralling rents have forced many residents to seek cheaper accommodation in more distant locations, further adding to the traffic problem."

Dubai is building a metro, scheduled for completion sometime in 2009.
However, Sharjah, Dubai and Abu Dhabi could be doing so much more in terms of public transport with a reliable, consistent and organized public bus system even if it would be a stop gap measure until the metro is completed, which will only serve Dubai for the most part - not any of the "feeder" cities that contribute to the he!!ish traffic.

Inter-emirate cooperation for this type of project is almost non-existent. Rather than working together on large infrastructure projects (such as the metro, highway construction/expansion) each emirate operates separately seemingly on an ad hoc basis.

Sharjah, being in the middle between Ajman, UAQ and RAK is particularly backward in dealing with problems until they absolutely have to do something - reactive rather than proactive. To be fair, some of the growth in outlying emirates has happened very quickly, but Sharjah has always been slow to respond - witness the Al Itihad Road (Sharjah Dubai Road) - it's been a mess for years.

here's the link for the full article http://www.gulftalent.com/home/hr-article23.html

boundforsaudi · Joined: 29 Jan 2003 Posts: 243

Anybody try beating the traffic on a bike or a motorcycle? Is whitelining legal?

kiefer · Joined: 12 Jan 2007 Posts: 268

Apparently if you have a pizza delivery box on your scooter you can whiteline with impunity.

boundforsaudi · Joined: 29 Jan 2003 Posts: 243

But there must be a lot of motorcyclists besides pizza boys in Dubai. Do the others whiteline, too?

stoth1972 · Posted: Wed Jul 11, 2007 1:59 pm Post subject:

Occasionally you might see a non-commercial motorcycle. Most English-speaking expats i knew in the gulf who owned motorcycles wouldn't dream of using them for the commute. It's more dangerous that being in a Toyota Echo! Laughing

boundforsaudi · Joined: 29 Jan 2003 Posts: 243

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Ok. But does anybody know for sure? Is whitlining legal or not?

stoth1972 · Posted: Wed Jul 11, 2007 2:15 pm Post subject:

If we're talking the solid white lines, technically it is illegal. Police, though, are less concerned with those guys on motorbikes riding over into the emergency lane than their much larger counterparts. As for zipping in and out of traffic/between lanes, not sure about the legality of that. Instinctively, I would say, "no".

veiledsentiments · Joined: 20 Feb 2003 Posts: 17644 Location: USA

Of course it's not legal, the question should be is it ever enforced. And considering how completely they ignore all the other laws, I doubt this one would be enforced either.

But, only the extremely poor and the extremely suicidal would commute on a motorcycle or bike in this part of the world.

VS

boundforsaudi · Joined: 29 Jan 2003 Posts: 243

Whadya mean "of course?" Ain't you from California, VS? It's legal there, ain't it? And what's wrong with being poor and suicidal?

veiledsentiments · Joined: 20 Feb 2003 Posts: 17644 Location: USA

stoth1972 · Posted: Wed Jul 11, 2007 4:44 pm Post subject:

I always thought VS was Omani.