Dubai's Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) has completed Phase III of the Dedicated Bus and Taxi Lanes Project on Khalid bin Al Waleed Street.
The new lane starts from the intersection of Khalid bin Al Waleed Street to Al Mina Street to an intersecting point on Zabeel Street for about 4.3 kilometres. The lane has been marked in red for identification purposes.
Opening up for full use on 21 January, the new lane is currently being tested by bus drivers.
The project also included the construction of pedestrian paths, air-conditioned shelters for bus and taxi passengers, streetlights, roadside parking and landscaping.
The bus and taxi lanes are currently spread over seven key streets, including Al Mankhool, Al Khaleej, Khalid bin Al Waleed, Al Ghubaiba, Naif, Al Ittihad and Al Mina Streets.
Mattar Mohammed Al Tayer, Director-General, Chairman of the Board of Executive Directors of the Roads and Transport Authority said, "Building dedicated bus and taxi lanes is a successful global practice that encourages people to ride public transport means, rather than in private vehicles. It is a common practice in several metropolitan cities in North America and Europe. It aims to increase the percentage of compliance with on-time departures, encourage the public to use mass transport, improve taxi arrival times, and reduce direct and indirect operational costs, as well as the pollution from emissions. The project will also contribute to realising the strategic goal of Integrated Dubai, improve the living standards and enhance the happiness of public transport riders."
He added, "The completion of Phase III of the project culminates in the huge successes of the initial two phases of the project, which saved about 5 minutes in the journey of each bus, and improved bus journey times by 24 per cent. It also improved the satisfaction of bus and taxi riders. Currently, 40 bus routes use dedicated lanes, including 19 routes that use Khalid bin Al Waleed Street."