Commuters sweat it out in broken Abu Dhabi bus shelters

Months after The National reported on the sorry state of shelters, little improvement has been made.

Some bus shelters in the capital are in a bad state of disrepair with broken doors and non-working air conditioning forcing people to wait outside in the searing heat. Mona Al Marzooqi / The National

ABU DHABI // Despite months of complaining, commuters in the capital are still being forced to stand in sweltering heat outside broken bus shelters.

Months after The National reported on shelters with broken doors, seats and air conditioners, little improvement has been made.

A check last week on shelters on Airport, Muroor, Defence and Al Falah roads found 15 with air conditioners out of order, while others had broken chairs and doors.

“Nowadays it’s very hot, so maintenance people should inspect them regularly,” said Mark Esguerra, who was sweating in the heat at a shelter in front of the Etisalat building on Muroor Road.

“In the absence of air conditioners, shelters turned into an oven,” said Mr Esguerra, a petrol station attendant from the Philippines.

The shelters are fitted with CCTV cameras so those responsible for their upkeep should be able to see people forced to stand outside, he said.

Some commuters sat inside the shelters, despite the lack of air conditioners, to protect themselves from direct sunlight.

“We walk for 15 minutes to the bus stop from our place but again there is no respite,” said Mohammed Tahir, a salesman from Pakistan who was waiting for a bus to Mushrif Mall.

“A week ago, it was working.”

In 2012, the Department of Transport planned to open 360 air conditioner cooled shelters, with 160 in Abu Dhabi city, 80 in the Western Region, and 120 in Al Ain.

However, problems with the automatic sliding doors at shelters becoming stuck and staying open have been going on for more than two years, passengers said.

“It’s a big problem,” said Mec Morante, a salesman from the Philippines.

“You can see how much I’m sweating. I’m sitting inside to protect from myself the scorching heat and direct sunshine. The temperature is more than 45°C.

“I walked to Al Falah Street from Khalidiyah and thought I would get some respite in the air conditioned shelter but found it damaged. I remember it was working a few days back,” said Mr Morante.

Many opted to stand in shade behind bus stops to shelter from the sun.

A resident of Al Zahiyah in the Tourist Club area, Christina Cruz, said: “Due to damaged bus shelters I have to shell out a lot of money on taxis to commute because I can’t stand for a long time under such unbearable heat.

“Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn’t,” said Ms Cruz, who was waiting for a bus in front of Medeor Hospital on Muroor Road.

Ms Cruz, a nurse, said she carried a parasol for shade because she did not know if the air conditioning would be working from day to day. “An umbrella is a must for me to protect myself from the sunshine,” she said.

The National approached the DoT but was told the Department of Municipal Affairs (DMA) was now responsible for the upkeep of bus shelters.

However, the DMA said the upkeep of the shelters was down to the DoT.

Neither responded to further queries.