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Sharjah: The first route of the intra-city public transport is expected to start within two weeks.
"We will be operating by middle of May. Ten of the 25 buses have already been registered with the traffic police and the rest of the 15 will be registered some time this week," said a senior official from Sharjah Transport on Sunday.
Passengers will be charged Dh3 in fares and children below 10 years will travel for free.
A total of 25 buses are expected to operate along the three routes.
There will be two types of buses, including a large one, measuring 12 metres in length, and a smaller one, 10.6 metres in length, that are designed to cater to people with special needs.
Capacity
The large ones will be used on the route of the industrial areas and can accommodate up to 80 passengers, both standing and seated. The smaller bus will be used along the other two routes and can accommodate a total of 33 passengers.
The bus stops have air-conditioning unit for the ease of passengers, said the official. According to the master plan, a total of 142 buses will run on 18 routes.
The bus system will operate from eight terminals and will pass through Al Ittihad Square to Al Nahda, Al Sharq and Sharjah International Airport.
The buses will operate from 5am to 11.30pm, and will start its route from the main bus terminal at Al Ittihad Square in Al Rolla.
The routes will be from Al Ittihad Square bus station to Al Nahda area station, Sharjah International Airport to Al Sharq bus station, and from Al Wasit Bus Station to Al Taawun Bus
Station.
Residents remain pessimistic
The new bus service is not expected to reduce congestion on the roads unless they are expanded and widened.
Residents said they were pessimistic about the effect the new bus service will have in the city and were convinced that it will not make a difference to the heavy traffic.
It will not contribute to reducing the traffic because the congestion is mainly caused by so many people commuting back and forth. It takes 45 minutes to reach Al Taawun Mall from Al Khan because the traffic is heavy on the Sharjah-Dubai border," said Osama Al Janabi.
"It's not about the cost of the ticket but the number of cars on the roads who commute to Dubai. How many buses will you need to accommodate everyone?
"The roads will not be less congested because right now there are only two main routes leading to Dubai, which is the Emirates Road and Ittihad Road," said Ebrahim Yaqoob, who rides a bike and was more concerned about his safety on the roads because the drivers of buses do not usually pay attention to the motorbikes.
"There will not be any difference to ... traffic [flow] because of the large [number] of people living in Sharjah, due [to lower] rent as compared to other emirates. The roads are not wide enough and more space is needed in order to combat the heavy traffic," said Rafael Bautista.
Residents also voiced their concerns over the regularity of buses, as that would play a major factor for its popularity.
"I would not want to lose my time waiting half an hour for a bus, and would rather continue using my car because nobody can guarantee that they will arrive 10 minutes after each other.
"The buses will not make much of a difference because they do not go to Dubai, and everybody will ultimately get stuck on the highway," said Shahid Mustafa.
Transport: 25 vehicles, 3 routes
- Initially the service will be run on three routes with 25 buses.
- Ticket fare will be Dh3.
- Children below 10 will travel free.
- The services are run from 5am to 11.30pm.
- The service will eventually cover 18 routes and will have 142 buses.
Have your say
Do you think the new public transport will help ease the traffic situation in Sharjah? Why? What other routes, according to you, should be introduced? Tell us at letter2editor@gulfnews.com or fill in the form below to send your comments.
Your comments
It's a relief to hear that. Having intercity bus may not lessen traffic, but surely it will help commuters with their daily struggle to find a Taxi.
Nadjat
Sharjah,UAE
Posted: May 05, 2008, 13:48
It is good to have some buses around Sharjah, it is better than nothing because I experience taking a taxi on peak hours its is very hard, so its a good news to everyone who cant afford a taxi.
frederic
sharjah,UAE
Posted: May 05, 2008, 13:47
Time intervals between the busses is the most important, because once I waited for three hours in a bus stop in Dubai, not even a single bus came, and finally I got irritated when 3 busses arrived at the same time. Second point is that all the drivers should learn how to deal and speak with passenger, as some drivers think that they are doing you a favor rather than its their job and we are paying.
Vinod
Dubai,UAE
Posted: May 05, 2008, 13:10
Hope that bus will pass the area of Jamal Abdul Nasr St.
Ella
Sharjah,UAE
Posted: May 05, 2008, 12:28
To a certain extent it will be a relief in terms of fares, when compared to the existing taxi fares. And I hope more buses would be added soon and the services can be extended to Jabel Ali.
Shajahan
Dubai,UAE
Posted: May 05, 2008, 12:24
Yes, it will be a big help for middle class people who can't afford a taxi everyday.
Sandipta
Sharjah,UAE
Posted: May 05, 2008, 12:18
I believe that this bus service would contribute to more traffic during peak hours. Specially in the morning rush hours, when the school busses are already blocking the roads.
Safdar
Sharjah,UAE
Posted: May 05, 2008, 12:14
The new bus service is not expected to reduce congestion on the roads unless they are expanded and widened. It will not make a difference to the heavy traffic. Please expand and widen routes and also there are new routes to be made from Sharjah to Dubai to ease the traffic.
Fathima
Sharjah,UAe
Posted: May 05, 2008, 11:39
Such a transport facility is needed badly not only now but long ago, at last we got it, thanks Sharjah. This will naturally ease the traffic in Sharjah but at the same time the roads have to be expanded or other options considered otherwise in future we may find traffic everywhere. Once 142 buses ply within Sharjah then naturally it will cover all the routes.
Azmath
Sharjah,UAE
Posted: May 05, 2008, 11:36
I think it would really help people if the RTA would start buses to Dubai and Jebel Ali, mainly in the morning and evening to cope with the traffic.
Laititea
Sharjah,UAE
Posted: May 05, 2008, 11:26
In Bradford, traffic congestion was a real problem along the main bus routes and one had no incentive to travel by bus. A few years ago, bus lanes were introduced which barred other traffic from using the bus lanes during peak hours. This has significantly improved the journey times for bus commuters. Also, more people are using the buses.
Mohamed
Bradford,UK
Posted: May 05, 2008, 11:24
This is not useful for the public. This is useful only for the weekends. A plan to put a water bus from Sharjah to Dubai would be very useful for everyone.
Hussain
Dubai,UAE
Posted: May 05, 2008, 11:18
For sure it will not help. At first they should have a separate lane for the bus to move around, which will force many people to use buses, and secondly they should have bus stops whether it is Dubai to Sharjah or Sharjah to Dubai.
Niranjan
Dubai,UAE
Posted: May 05, 2008, 10:38
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