Increase in bus fares reduces ridership in Abu Dhabi

The number of journeys on Abu Dhabi’s buses has fallen by 14 million since city fares were doubled two years ago. Mona Al-Marzooqi/ The National

ABU DHABI // The number of journeys on Abu Dhabi’s buses has fallen by 14 million since city fares were doubled two years ago.

Transport chiefs said on Tuesday they had expected a fall, but not so large, and promised to invest the revenue from increased fares to win back the lost passengers.

The drop in passenger numbers came despite the addition of 15 routes to the bus network and an increase in the number of peak-time buses by 32.

Fares in the city were doubled to Dh2 in November 2012, and rose on a per-kilometre basis on regional and intercity services.

“This really points out a demographic issue, which is that buses now tend to be used by residents who cannot afford either cars or taxis,” said Glenn Havinoviski, a transport expert in Abu Dhabi.

“By the standards of most cities around the world, Abu Dhabi’s fares remain very low, and probably not nearly enough to cover the cost of operations.”

For public transport to prosper, the services offered should be affordable, reliable and convenient, said Thomas Edelmann, founder of the website Road Safety UAE.

“Convenience is determined by the proper connectivity and routes offered by public transport, the journey time and physical convenience, which can be quite a challenge in our harsh climate,” he said. “Affordability plays a key role as we’re witnessing the effects of price increases.”

The figures were revealed in the Department of Transport’s sustainability report, published on Tuesday. It says Abu Dhabi is still reliant on private cars.

The number of registered vehicles has grown an average of 13 per cent a year since 2008, and kilometres of road have increased by an average of 6.7 per cent a year. At these rates, the ratio of vehicles to road space in Abu Dhabi will double every 12 years, the report says.

To stave off severe congestion the department has developed plans for surface transport, aviation and freight.

For 2030 its Surface Transport Master Plan calls for an integrated system of regional trail, metro rail, trams, buses, taxis, park and ride, and highways.

The department is a member of the Abu Dhabi Safety and Traffic Solutions Committee, which aims to reduce the number of lives lost on the roads.

Last year there was a 5 per cent reduction in bus crashes per 100,000km of operation in which the driver was at fault, from 0.62 in 2012 to 0.59. Safety in taxis also improved, with the number of speeding fines reduced by half from 6,714.

The department has reviewed and refined speeding and unsafe driving laws to improve enforcement in co-ordination with Abu Dhabi Police, and has published a road user code.

Publicity campaigns, strict enforcement and improved traffic systems have helped to cut road deaths in Abu Dhabi by 18 per cent in the first eight months of the year, the police said last month.

On the bus network, the department has renovated most old bus shelters, installed 49 new bus shelters, invested in an automated card system and begun installing machines that will sell and top up fare cards.

“Unfortunately, despite these gains made in coverage and quality of service of Abu Dhabi’s bus system, the total number of passengers served decreased by 21 per cent from 2012 to 53 million in 2013 due to a fare increase,” the report said.

“Although the increase was planned and the DoT expected a consequent setback in usage, the magnitude was greater than anticipated. The increased revenues will be invested to further develop the quality and coverage of the bus system in an economically sustainable way to win back the lost passengers.”

The transport network comprises 10,363km of roads, five airports, 11 ports, 115 bus routes, 575 buses in service, two ferries, 7,147 taxis and 99,809 paid parking spaces.

Ferries transported 96,819 passengers and there were 66 million taxi trips in 2013, a 4.5 increase over 2012. The average waiting time, however, increased from 6.9 minutes to 7.1 minutes.

The report says 153,000 passengers used Abu Dhabi cruise services and 16 million travelled by air.