Dubai Metro and RTA Dubai Bus: Local Efficiency and the City’s Global Image

Since the reconfiguration of the United Arab Emirates in 1971, the three major modes of transport -maritime, air and road- were incorporated in Dubai’s global identity. However, an efficient intra-urban public transport system was lacking. Since its inauguration in 2009, Dubai Metro was presented as a response to the challenges posed by the local road network, by traffic congestion and pollution, and it is more and more present in the urban image of the city and in the construction of its global identity. However, RTA Dubai Bus, is the less-known public transport system.
This paper will examine the role of the two intra-urban public transport systems in the building of Dubai’s global identity; it will compare the forceful role of Metro Dubai with the more absent one of RTA Dubai Bus. A survey was implemented to identify the users of both the Metro and the Bus; accessibility was measured by an analysis of the routes....