Page 71 - SALIK PR REPORT AUGUST 2024

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Five years ago, Khaleej Times reported – as per data provided by the Roads
and Transport Authority (RTA) – that there was one car for every two
residents, or 540 vehicles per 1,000 people; while cities like New York, London,
Singapore, and Hong Kong respectively had 305, 213, 101 and 63 vehicles per
1,000 residents.
In 2006, less than two decades ago, the number of registered vehicles in
Dubai stood only at around 740,000. This doubled to 1.4 million in 2015, and
reached 1.83 million by 2020. At present, estimates suggest there are around
3 million cars moving around Dubai on busy week days, including cars
coming from neighbouring emirates.
So, the question is: Would it help if we removed a certain number of cars off
the road on certain days of the week to reduce traffic? Would an ‘odd-even
scheme’ – that is being implemented in some major cities in the world – help
ease peak-hour jams?

Road space rationing

Dr Monica Menendez, associate dean of Engineering for Graduate Affairs at
New York University Abu Dhabi (NYUAD), explained: “The odd-even scheme –
also called road space rationing – simply takes some cars out of the road on
different days of the week, depending on the ending number of the license
plate.”
This means vehicles with car plates ending in 1 and 2, are not allowed on the
road on Monday; 3 and 4 on Tuesday; 5 and 6 on Wednesday; 7 and 8 on
Thursday; 9 and 0 on Friday. All vehicles are allowed on the road on Saturday
and Sunday, which are weekends.

Dr Monica Menendez. Photo: Supplied
“The scheme has been implemented in multiple cities around the world,
including Mexico City, Athens, and Beijing. While some cities have used it on

https://www.khaleejtimes.com/transport/uae-traffic-would-an-odd-even-scheme-help-ease-peak-
hour-jams