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Dubai Metro and RTA Dubai Bus:
Local Efficiency and the City’s Global Image
Jack KEILO,1 Clémence MONTAGNE2
MAKALE / ARTICLE
m garonjournal.com
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MEGARON 2012;7(ek 1):113-121
Correspondence (İletişim): Jack KEILO. e-mail (e-mail): keilojack@hotmail.com, clemence_montagne@yahoo.fr
© 2012 Yıldız Teknik Üniversitesi Mimarlık Fakültesi - © 2012 Yıldız Technical University, Faculty of Architecture
Since the reconguraon of the United Arab Emira-
tes in 1971, the three major modes of transport -ma-
rime, air and road- were incorporated in Dubai’s glo-
bal identy. However, an ecient intra-urban public
transport system was lacking. Since its inauguraon in
2009, Dubai Metro was presented as a response to the
challenges posed by the local road network, by trac
congeson and polluon, and it is more and more pre-
sent in the urban image of the city and in the construc-
on of its global identy. However, RTA Dubai Bus, is
the less-known public transport system.
This paper will examine the role of the two intra-ur-
ban public transport systems in the building of Dubai’s
global identy; it will compare the forceful role of Met-
ro Dubai with the more absent one of RTA Dubai Bus. A
survey was implemented to idenfy the users of both
the Metro and the Bus; accessibility was measured by
an analysis of the routes.
It is argued that Dubai Metro is being integrated in
the global identy of Dubai, while the RTA Dubai Bus is
not. It is assumed that cies are selecve in what to in-
tegrate in their identy on the global scale, and eci-
ency is not the only important factor. Dubai has shown
that modernity can be a clear determinant in choosing
a parcular mode of intra-urban public transport.
1Civil Engineer and Doctoral Student in Urban and Historical Geography at the Paris-Sorbonne University (France), Research Unit “Espaces, Nature et
Culture” (UMR 8185 ; CNRS and universies Paris IV and Paris VIII), 191, rue Saint Jacques 75005 Paris, France.
2Urban Planner and Doctoral Student in Urban and Transport Geography at the Paris-Sorbonne University (France), Research Unit “Espaces, Nature et
Culture” (UMR 8185 ; CNRS and universies Paris IV and Paris VIII), 191, rue Saint Jacques 75005 Paris, France.
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Dubai Metro: Towards a Renewed Image of
Dubai and its Public Transport Infrastructure
The representaons of the Dubai Metro haven’t
been the object of a thorough academic study. Public
transport system of Dubai is praised as being the most
advanced public transport system not only in the UAE,
but also in the whole Arabian Peninsula because of a
fruiul combinaon of a modern taxi eet, the exis-
tence of a water taxi and nally an automac metro
line supposed to connect major business districts and
employment hubs.
The history of Dubai development has been mostly
driven by road infrastructure. Unl 2004, most of the
investments have been concentrated on the highways,
yovers, road under bridge and road over bridge. Be-
cause of growing trac congeson, the planning de-
partment of Dubai Municipality has been separated
and transformed into a Road and Transports Authority
of Dubai in 2005 (hence RTA Dubai). Some specic
laws have been passed by the Dubai Execuve Council
to ensure a control over the real estate developers and
make sure that every large development has to submit
a transport master plan along. Quite simultaneously,
from 2000, a new bus system has been launched in or-
der to raonalize an informal transport system and to
smooth the daily trac congeson. Shortly aer, the
idea of implemenng a metro came forward. Opened
in 2009, the red line stretches over 52 km with 29 sta-
ons. Operaons started on 2011 on the green line over
about 23 km and 17 out of the 19 staons opened.1
In a broader sense, Dubai Metro is more than only
a public transport system. It is one of the “consequ-
ences” of the rebuilding of Dubai City post-crisis in
a context where the economy of the city was much
dependent on speculaon and real estate boom (Bo-
urdin, 2010). Therefore the Dubai Metro is seen be-
yond its funconal role as a mode of transport: it is
a resilient factor to the crisis in diversifying mobility
choices and stepping towards a car-free society. Ope-
ned right amidst the global nancial crisis, the Dubai
Metro plays a major role in the drive of a “revived” city
image. Once ago the discussion was about “planning
the metro with a Land Rover” because of the image of
building up a city from scratches in the desert (OMA,
2007), today the Metro is a world class infrastructure
that connects “major commercial and tourisc arac-
ons” (interview with an RTA ocial, 2011).
The case of transport in Dubai has been once in a
while submied to inquiry and scienc studies. At
rst it was more about side eects of transports in the
quality of life of Dubai and the environmental impacts
of the car-oriented choice in the city-making (Al Me-
1 For more informaon about the Metro please refer to www.rta.ae
Figure 1. The map shows the two metro lines which are currently functional in the Emirate of Dubai (and within the
borders of Municipal Dubai). The main shopping malls are represented as small stars.
Keilo J and Montagne C, Dubai Metro and RTA Dubai Bus
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hairi, 1995). For a while the scienc circles omied
the transport queson, but the Dubai Municipality and
the Road and Transports Authority in extenso, in order
to nd possible soluons for congeson problems. Ac-
cording to a Gulf Talent survey conducted in 2007, this
city was the most congested city in the Middle East.
Narraves of residents described the trac condions
in rush hours as impossible although the city being
“well organized”.2 In some recent studies on Dubai, as
in the publicaon of the PhD thesis of Ahmed Kanna
in The City Corporaon, there is an urge to develop a
“clean orderly city with modern infrastructure” (Kan-
na, 2011:197). Yasser Elsheshtawy’s Dubai: Behind an
Urban Spectacle says that “infrastructures are lacking”
and suggests that a more relevant type of transport
infrastructure would be a soluon to the congeson
crisis the urban network is facing since 2005 (Elshesh-
tawy, 2010).
In several papers on urban development of the Gulf
cies in the Al Manakh 1 and Al Manakh 2 the ques-
on of transit infrastructure is approached but yet not
studied in depth. The two collecons of arcles and
essays present a summary on the descripon of the
real estate boom at that me in some of the metro-
polis of the Arabo-persian Gulf. In the Al Manakh 2,
T. Decker writes about the Metro as a “people’icon”
and role of urban rail in the socio-spaal cohesion. She
give a detailed descripon of the opening of the Metro
that went with the “reworks accompanied the rst
train’s passage through the city and television viewers
were introduced to the metro’s lavish staons as She-
ikh Mohammed and invited guest toured the system”
(Decker, 2010). The commemorave plaque of metro
inauguraon on the 09.09.2009 by the Sheikh himself
is visible at the Mall of the Emirates’ staon, where a
wall clock is xed on the opening me and date. As
per T. Decker, the Dubai metro has two main purposes
at rst it is a symbolic project and also an infrastruc-
tural investment. This is why the metro is connecng
the main symbols of the city as the Palm Jumeirah, the
Burj Al Arab and the Burj Khalifa/Downtown Dubai. Se-
cond, it has a purpose to reduce congeson, which is
a negave externality, considered to be harmful to the
emirate’s compeveness.
The aim of this arcle is to explore some links bet-
ween the city of Dubai and its now-iconic public trans-
port system. This research paper is on the system of
public transport, developed, owned and improved
by the Government of the city of Dubai in the United
Arab Emirates.3 At this stage of our research it is not
a queson to assess the eciency of this system. We
were at rst assuming that the Metro impacts on daily
mobility choices of city resident will be lower because
of a lack of integraon with the bus system. But a sur-
vey of every connecon with Metro Staon and Bus
Line (be it feeder or casual system) revealed it was not
a planning nor technical integraon. Here it is propo-
sed to go further this statement and explore the in-
tegraon of the Dubai Metro in daily commung and
in resident’s lifestyles while wondering why the Dubai
Metro is marketed as a way to go shopping when the
bus network is misregarded.
Methodology
Has the image of the Dubai Metro overshadowed
the image of the RTA Bus system though both are in-
terdependent and closely related? Apparently the Du-
bai Metro has beneted from a wide branding campa-
ign to convince the users of taking the recently opened
metro lines. The RTA Bus hasn’t had the same privile-
ge: in spite of its importance to the city it is not consi-
dered as “presgious” in the construcon of the global
city image as the Dubai Metro.
In this paper we will conduct two case studies on
the public transport system in Dubai. The rst case
study is consisted of an analysis of representaons:
branding of the public transport system of Dubai in
the public spaces of the city. Some malls of Dubai
can be considered as “real” public spaces, being ow-
ned by the Government of Dubai’s corporaons. For
some others, they are private spaces but accessible to
everyone, theorecally. Thus we are going to analyse
representaons of the public transport system bran-
ding in three of the largest malls of Dubai: the Dubai
Mall, Mall of the Emirates and Ibn Bauta Mall. We are
going to examine the “orientaon” to public transport
modes, as suggested by branding adversements put
by RTA Dubai and clearly visible to every passerby or to
every visitor to these malls.
The second study is an inquiry among a sample of
interviewees composed of inhabitants of Dubai con-
tacted through a snowball strategy via emailed ques-
onnaire. Then, the inquired persons had the possibility
2 “Dubai overtakes Cairo in Trac Congeson”, 2007, Gulf Talent, “In
Dubai, you should never ever go anywhere when it’s the rush hour.
The road will just NOT go. Although the city is well organized, but
sll the trac is heavier than the road can handle”. hp://www.
gulalent.com/home/Dubai-Overtakes-Cairo-in-Trac-Congeson-
Arcle-23.html and hp://www.gulalent.com/home/Decongesng-
Dubai-Press-50.html
3 According to our ongoing research as PhD student, we are accor-
dingly serving this arcle with our research purposes, being on one
side the shiing of the urban centrality in the Middle
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of giving their email address to schedule a face-to-face
interview and get more informaon on their mobility
choices and paerns. This survey aims at knowing
more the daily mobility of some of the inhabitants of
the city. The sample was chosen according to mulp-
le criteria (naonality, profession and number of ye-
ars lived in Dubai: all of the interviewees are acve
workers: 70% male and 30% female, with an average
age of 28. The rst group of quesons of the inquiry
is about place of residence, place of work and daily
mobility. The second group of quesons concentrates
on the extent of familiarity and on the knowledge the
interviewees have about the public transport system
in Dubai. A third group of quesons is devoted to know
if the interviewees are inuenced, in their choices, by
the adversements promoted by the RTA Dubai and if
they know the RTA Internet site.
Results
Out of the 16 interviewed for the qualitave inquiry,
one respondent is a daily user of the metro. Almost no
one of them has tried the RTA Bus. All of them are da-
ily or very frequent (more than 3 mes a week) users
of RTA Taxi, even car owners among them, since taxis
are the most comfortable transport mode for a certain
share of the resident populaon of Dubai.
Out of the face-to-face interviews conducted in a
second set, most of the respondents expressed the
wish to get a driving license and to be allowed to dri-
ve and thus be independent from the public network.
Only one respondent has said that driving is too dan-
gerous in the streets of Dubai and she would rather
extend her pracces of Dubai Integrated Public Trans-
port network. She was the only person to acknowled-
ge that RTA Bus is one of the safest modes of transport
in town. The rest, een persons, don’t take the bus
because “I don’t understand” or because “it is not yet
well explained”. The image of the Dubai Metro is rat-
her posive for the users as one of the respondents
points out: “Dubai has awesome public transport op-
ons and choices and are very good for the people
who are using them” (M-05-JLT). But it is only good for
people whose home or work addresses are very close
to metro staons. It is not really appropriate for going
to cultural acvies or for groceries. It is helpful to go
for window or leisure shopping. According to the same
person, the major lack of the Dubai Transport Network
is that “there is not a very good network for travelling
internal areas (sic)” (M-05-JLT).
Although, Dubai Metro is seen as a comfortable,
“convenient and [run on] reasonably prices” (M-03-Al
Qusais), according to the interviewees it is sll not in-
tegrated to their origin/desnaon locaons. In fact,
we noce that most of the interviewees need to use
another mode of transport to complete their journey.
Taxi ride has increased the cost of travelling with
the public transport system. Most of the respondents
actually own a car and use the Metro because their
origin and nal desnaon are very close to the Metro
Staon. The respondents think that depending on the
public transportaon will increase the mobility costs
in me and money unless they live and work close to
the Metro Staons. Indeed, one of the respondents
argued that «the metro bus connecon to my oce
is not very me-friendly and thus I end up using the
taxi to commute to work” (F-01-Warsan). Another res-
pondent explains that nal desnaon being always
reached with a taxi, the cumulated costs result in a
loss of interest in the public transport and one would
prefer the comfort and the privacy oered by driving
cars. Not only that the taxi rides induce a higher cost
of money, it is also me-consuming to shi from one
transport mode to another.
As an interviewee explains, “it takes too long to go
to oce” (M-10-JLT). Driving from one place to anot-
her is easier for car owners in terms of me and mo-
ney costs. As another interviewee tells us that while
the public transport is very sasfying, she does travel
by her car only to go faster (M-12-Barsha). Although
most of our interviewees live in highly urbanised areas
served by the Metro, they choose to use their cars to
commute daily.
Except from one interviewee saying she would rat-
her not drive because of road safety issues, most of
the interviewees want to get a driving license in Dubai
or already have one. She daily uses the bus feeders to
move from her home to the oce where she works.
Some of the answers are related to the urban morpho-
logy that is not pedestrian-friendly, to the climac and
environment condions (dust and heat), and nally
the work characteriscs with “site locaons demand
that I use the car regularly”. In one case, the rare use
of the Metro is only due to the “parking limitaons in
Deira” (M-09-Internaonal City).
Once a set of interview were done, we proceed to-
ward another kind of survey which is more precisely the
image of the Metro in some public space where are sup-
posed to be allowed to move our pool of interviewees.
Through a reading of photos taken in three of the
main malls of Dubai, we are going to discern the com-
municaon policy of RTA Dubai on public transport
system. These photos show dierent ocial adver-
Keilo J and Montagne C, Dubai Metro and RTA Dubai Bus
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sements, made by RTA Dubai to brand the city’s trans-
port. They are visible in all the big malls and easily re-
adable, as they are put on the “strategic” passages in
the malls: entrances, exits, main halls, food courts etc.
The three biggest malls of Dubai in surface, and
they are located along the Red Line of Dubai Metro
and along Sheikh Zayed Road, the main artery of the
emirate. As this study is exploratory, the inclusion of
other malls in an eventual more analycal study would
reveal more relevant results. Yet this work is a neces-
sary beginning.
Analysis
Indeed, Dubai’s public transport system is adver-
sed, via specic images, in the three studied malls. A
simple reading of the adversements can give the fol-
lowing results:
1. The Dubai Metro is perceived as the city’s rst-
choice transport. The adversements which tell “My
City. My Metro.” are visible in all the main entrances of
the three malls. The wring in Arabic is even more pre-
cise: Al Metro ikhari (the metro is my choice). The Du-
bai Metro, according to this adversement, is the best
mode of transport in town (please refer to Figure 1).
2. The Dubai Metro is perceived as related to shop-
ping, the main commercial acvity of the city. At the
metro entrances/exits to the malls, big adversements
declare that “When the Metro stops, the shopping be-
gins”. The city’s geographical form, sprawling along the
Persian Gulf sea shores, is structured around a major
free ow arterial the Sheikh Zayed Road. As of now,
one of the metro lines is following the highway on
most of its extent connecng thus majors commercial
centres located in the new Dubai (please refer to Fi-
gure 2). Mall of the Emirates is also the staon where
is located an electronic stopwatch that run since the
9.09.2009, inauguraon date of the metro.
3. The RTA Bus is perceived as a part of the metro
system: the feeders are made to “ll the gap” between
the metro lines and the rest of the city. In one of the
interesng images seen in the Ibn Bauta Mall, RTA
Bus is the jigsaw puzzle piece which lls the empty
space between the city and the metro. According to
the adversement RTA Bus is not a transport system
per se, it is a support to a transport system which is
the metro (please refer Figure 3). The localisaon of
this ag explaining public transport policies in Dubai
is nonetheless not very convenient since too high in
the Persian Pavilion of the Ibn Bauta Mall. For most
of the clients of the mall, and though the feeder buses
are important to connect Discovery Gardens residen-
al quarter with the major centres, to see the board is
not that easy: hung four meters high, one needs to pay
special aenon to the Persian Hall cupola of the main
hall of Ibn Bauta Mall.
To conclude, we can say that an exploratory reading
of adversements related to public transport system
can show that Dubai considers the metro as the rst
Figure 2. My City. My Metro. The Arabic indication is even more precise: the Metro is my choice. Ibn Battuta Mall.
choice and the most appropriate means of transport in
the city while RTA Bus is reduced to a sort of connec-
on between the city and the “high transport” repre-
sented by the metro. At the same me the metro is the
means of transport related to the city’s main acvies
of shopping and to the city’s important public spaces,
namely the malls. This conclusion is armed by two
other representaons seen at the RTA Head Oce Bu-
ilding in Rashidiya, Dubai City. In the rst representa-
on, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al Maktoum, the
Emir of Dubai, is depicted with the Dubai Metro (plea-
se refer Figure 4).
In the second, a model of the Dubai Metro is set just
in front of the Head Oce. We can say that a simple
analysis of these two representaons shows that the
metro is the main “presge” of RTA Dubai, as the city’s
main public transport and as an important means in
the city’s public image (please refer Figure 5).
To understand how this branding of the Dubai Metro
was ecient in the daily mobility choices of some in-
habitants, a study of their commung preferred transit
mode have been conducted. Our exploratory analysis
projects a spotlight on how residents choose their
“preferred” public transport system and which crite-
ria are taken into consideraon. We have conducted
two case studies: a qualitave inquiry with a snowball
sample of residents of Dubai, and then a study of pub-
lic transport branding in three of the largest malls of
Dubai. According to our primary results, eciency wo-
uld be insucient to determine the rst choice of the
city. The presge related to a more “modern” mode of
transport can be as decisive as eciency in the decisi-
on of what to consider as the city’s “main” transport
mode. But others criteria enter in the nal choices as
the clear understanding of the network, the ulisaon
of the internet device (Trip Planner) and the me - mo-
ney budgets. As per the results of the analysis of the
interviews, we have isolated three types of mobility
choices based on the interviewee’s narraves.
A rst small group is a daily user of the metro by
choice, since they deliberately avoid using a car beca-
use of the rising cost of moving around with a car in
Dubai and its risks (accident, nes). But, apart from the
capve users who do not own a car and who are on
a ght budget for transport, very few are the others
expatriate in Dubai who chose to depend enrely on
the integrated public transport network. For this gro-
up, the communicaon tools used by RTA to brand and
explain the transit network is very valuable for them
as they have the feeling of having been upgraded eit-
her in their social status or in the mobility opons. The
hypothesis of them having a beer appropriaon of
the metropolitan area and a dierent relaonship with
the city because of a growth of independence in mo-
bility needs to be studied thoroughly. The inhabitants
of Dubai adming that they used daily the metro have
also admied being very familiar with the RTA boards
and devices to plan their trips. For instance, the Figure
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Figure 3. The RTA Bus Dubai is represented as the
“missing” piece of the jigsaw puzzle, between the
city and the metro. Ibn Battuta Mall.
Figure 4. The Metro is the new urban and
economic driver of the Emirate launched
and promoted by the person of the lea-
dership.
Keilo J and Montagne C, Dubai Metro and RTA Dubai Bus
Emirates and the Wa Mall.
Then comes the third group of city respondent that
have never envisaged being dependent on the metro
because they don’t have oce schedules (freelance,
home oce) or because they enjoy the quality of life
that is oered by the automobile freedom. None of
the respondent has express any interest in using the
bus network because of the lacks of informaon of the
eort one has to make to dene an inerary with a bus
-that is going to the RTA website and checking the Ro-
ute Planner devices. Most of the face to face interview
has shown that all of them are very sased with the
Dubai Metro while few of them actually ride the metro
to commute. Drivers have assumed that it has redu-
ced congeson and have a broad understanding how
to use the metro. They have none the less very less
noons on how to travel on the public transport net-
work. The main ground is the very less knowledge of
the Trip Planner features on the RTA website -though
it is commonly used by the bus users, who could not
be interviewed this me but randomly met in the bus.
Discussion
This exploratory research on the image of Dubai
Metro has shown that meanwhile being the newest
public infrastructure and one of the iconic symbols of
the Dubai Emirate. The branding of the Dubai Metro
across the public spaces of the city from scale 1 model
strategically located in front of the Emirates Head Qu-
arter (refer to Figure 5) to dierent boards informing
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6 shows most of the tools developed by RTA to make
the network very accessible, comfortable and easy to
use. From the electronic board located in each bus and
in every bus staon (but not yet at every bus stop) to
the several maps of public transport network located
in every metro staon, RTA is developing a wide set of
tools. This plate show a technical support of the ima-
ge of the Dubai Metro dispersed in the city that have
been shown here in Figure 1, 2, 3 and 4. While all the
residents of Dubai have been encountering these ima-
ges, very few of them have been actually topping by
one of the maps or network, even in this specic group
that are daily commuters with the public transport.
A second group of city residents who have no ot-
her choices than using the public transportaon but
who will prefer the convenience of the taxi over the
constraints related to the use of the metro especially
for daily commung. Most of the respondent of the
second group have actually no right to drive in Dubai
but who can aord daily commung in taxi. For them
the Metro is convenient from me to me to the ex-
tent of being compeve with a total trip made by
Taxi. Thus, a trip needing more than 2 modes (metro
+ Taxi) will not necessary be done as it is as expensive
and not as convenient as being picked up and dropped
out by a taxi. The branding of Dubai Metro’s image is
even more ecient when it comes to reaching major
malls actually connected with the Red or the Green
Line (please refer to the rst map) as the Burjuman,
Deira City Center, Dubai Mall, Ibn Bauta, Mall of the
Figure 5. A representation of the Dubai Metro in front of RTA Dubai Head Office.
a passage to the future and a necessity for the Emirate
to keep its leadership as a global desnaon over its
competors in the Middle East.
Beyond this characterisc of Dubai always in the run
for keeping an advanced place in the global city sup-
posed network, the Dubai Metro, as a mode of public
transport, is oering an alternave to the automobile
-that is opmising trip schedules, comfort and me of
travel. Indeed the aim of the Dubai Metro is more to
aract the car owners rather than the capve users.
That is why the adversement campaign happens
mostly in the public spaces where the rst populaon
usually go out and wander. Out in the public space it is
more of a campaign branding the involvement in the
leadership in the concepon and the development of
one of the most modernized mass rail rapid transit. Ai-
ming at aract a broader qualied expatriate popula-
on (Westerners, Arabs, East Asians and South Asians),
the Dubai Metro benets from large shares of the RTA
communicaon boards. The objecves of the Dubai
Government are to realize mul-modal integraon
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Dubai resident of the newest investment on mobility
oer. As many other global cies (ex. Singapore, Kuala
Lumpur…), Dubai is now equipped with a world class
urban rail infrastructure. It aims at oering ecient al-
ternave for commung to private vehicles.
Indeed oering the possibility to travel across the
Dubai City in a comfortable, relavely non expensive
and in a short me, the Dubai Metro is the symbol of
the integraon in a global city network where a rail inf-
rastructure is a “must”. As T. Decker phrases it is “both
an architectural and infrastructure showpiece” [and]
the metro represents a hybrid of two of the emirate’s
hallmark growth strategies.4 The “metro narrave” of
the Government and authories in Dubai is not only
centred around the migaon of the road congeson
and its eects, but also on benet for tourism and bu-
siness visitors who constute an essenal part of eco-
nomic development. This vision of the metro is clear in
the meditaons on Dubai wrien by Sheikh Moham-
med bin Rashid al Maktoum in his book Rou’ya (My
Vision), released in 2006. He states that Dubai Metro is
Figure 6. The Metro is the new urban and economic driver of the Emirate launched and promoted by the person
of the leadership.
4 Decker, T., 2009, “The people’s Icon? Urban Rail and Socio- Spaal
Cohesion in Dubai”, pp 204-207
Keilo J and Montagne C, Dubai Metro and RTA Dubai Bus
of mass transit systems (interview with RTA ocials,
October 2011). Expedious eorts are made to “make
the public transport means the ideal mobility choice
for people in the Emirate”, says the RTA chairman.
On the contrary, the bus system does not prot from
the same scale of communicaon. As a consequence,
we wonder if a beer communicaon campaign besi-
des a larger ulisaon of public transport integrated
yers and board maps would help connecons within
the RTA public transport eets. This would help people
to avoid depending on taxi and on its cost. Thus the
ride on the metro would be highly compeve becau-
se much cheaper. As a consequence this would make
the bus-metro network self-sucient.
The city fabric characteriscs (Elsheshtawy, 2004,
Elsheshtawy, 2010) make impossible any reliance on
only one public transport system. One or two metro
line can’t give accessibility (in a reasonable cost of
me and/or money) to every residents and/or tourists
in Dubai. In the contemporary situaon, it is a neces-
sity to organize on intertwined schedules and routes
the spaal distribuon in public transport mode across
the Dubai urban area, and to adverse RTA whole new
modernized systems. All the image of Dubai metro
enhanced the spectacular architecturally landscape
in which the users will travel in a convenient and con-
fortable metro. But the actual use of the metro is not
possible if transport demand is not closely related to
the immediate proximity of the stops and staons. In
spite of this fact, we have seen that metro branding
primed over all other modes of interurban transports’:
metro is seen, via adversement boards, commemo-
rave plaques, Medias and brochures, everywhere in
Dubai. But the supporng system, RTA Dubai Bus, is
not as well branded as the metro itself, even if the la-
ter depends on the feeders to aract users who live in
relavely-remote residenal areas from the metro sta-
ons. A development into a more integrated bus/met-
ro system would be ideal to opmise the metro ulity.
Moreover this modernizaon of the public trans-
port oers a real chance for a beer appropriaon
by the city residents of the total urbanised area. As T.
Decker menoned it the slogan My City My Metro was
not “the most likely message”. […] “However the ega-
litarian message of the marketers may signal a small
but meaningful shi in the relaonship between Dubai
and its resident populaon” (Decker in AMO, 2009). In-
deed, some key interviews with users and non-users of
the public transport system revealed others facts that
in the geography of the everyday of Dubai it is clearly
shown that the modernisaon of rail public transport
system has been rapidly inserted to the daily roune
of the city. It has been surprisingly noced that the
newly ecient bus system has been eclipsed by the
glossy and shining over expensive metro in the every-
day mobility survey of middle class users.
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121CiLT
VOL.
7 - EK 1
This paper was selected from the papers presented at the CAUMME 2012 International
Symposium that was held at Yıldız Technical University, Faculty of Architecture in 21-23
November 2012.
Bu yazı 21-23 Kasım 2012 tarihlerinde Yıldız Teknik Üniversitesi Mimarlık Fakültesi’nde
düzenlenen CAUMME 2012 Uluslararası Sempozyumu’nda sunulan bildiriler arasından
seçilmiştir.
