• Passengers board a bus at Al Safa Metro station. Antonie Robertson / The National
    Passengers board a bus at Al Safa Metro station. Antonie Robertson / The National
  • A traditional abra crosses the creek in Deira. AFP
    A traditional abra crosses the creek in Deira. AFP
  • Dubai Taxis were in demand throughout 2022. Antonie Robertson / The National
    Dubai Taxis were in demand throughout 2022. Antonie Robertson / The National
  • Commuters at the Business Bay Metro Station in Dubai. Antonie Robertson / The National
    Commuters at the Business Bay Metro Station in Dubai. Antonie Robertson / The National
  • The Dubai Metro remains a hugely popular mode of transport. Chris Whiteoak / The National
    The Dubai Metro remains a hugely popular mode of transport. Chris Whiteoak / The National
  • The RTA ferry offers a scenic route through the emirate. Jeff Topping / The National
    The RTA ferry offers a scenic route through the emirate. Jeff Topping / The National

UAE

Transport

Dubai enjoys public transport surge as 461 million trips made in 2021

Figures show significant increase on the 346 million journeys in 2020, highlighting sector's recovery from Covid-19 pandemic

The National

February 20, 2022

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A total of 461 million trips were made on Dubai public transport in 2021 as the emirate continued to bounce back from the Covid-19 pandemic.

Dubai's Roads and Transport Authority said an average of 1.3 million journeys were taken each day last year – covering taxis, metro and tram services, buses and marine transport, such as water taxis and abras – up from 948,000 the previous year.

Taxis (34 per cent) and Dubai Metro (33 per cent) together accounted for more than two thirds of all trips made during the year.

The busiest month was December, with 53 million passengers, followed by November with 50 million.

Mattar Al Tayer, director general of the authority, said the figures showed Dubai was back to business as usual after the challenges of Covid-19, with services scaled back in the early months of the pandemic.

“These results confirm that public transport operation is back to normal following Covid-19 and is a reflection of the high confidence of public transport users in the efficiency of the preventive and precautionary measures that RTA had initiated to curb the spread of the pandemic right from the start," said Mr Al Tayer.

"RTA applied the best global practices in coping with the virus. RTA’s efforts also accelerated the recovery of the public transport sector and restored the normal business to pre-Covid-19 levels.

"They have also boosted the confidence of public transport riders in the efficient health and preventive measures taken to protect public transport riders and the staff of public transport means, stations and related facilities."

The public bus service between Dubai and Abu Dhabi resumed in September, 2021 after being suspended in April 2020 when Covid-19 numbers increased and public health restrictions were imposed.

The E101 service runs from Ibn Battuta Mall near Jebel Ali to Abu Dhabi's central bus station.

Public transport keeps Dubai on the move

Mr Al Tayer said 154.7 million journeys were made in taxis, 151.3 million trips were made on Dubai Metro, buses were used 116.3 million times while Dubai Tram was used 5.34 million times.

Marine transport was also a popular option during the year, with 10.94 million journeys completed on abras, water buses and taxis and the ferry.

“Dubai’s public transport network, which is fully integrated, has become now the backbone of people movement around Dubai," the transport chief said.

"The network succeeded in coaxing a change and evolution in the culture and attitudes of all community segments to the use of public transport means.”

Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.

Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.

“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.

“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.

Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.

From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.

Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.

BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.

Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.

Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.

“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.

“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.

“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”

The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”

Updated: February 20, 2022, 2:47 PM