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7/3/25, 10:19 AM What can be done to solve UAE traffic congestion? | The National
Dr Kyriazis said there have been numerous positive measures to reduce dependence on road vehicles
in the UAE, such as the building in Abu Dhabi of a network of bicycle tracks. He would like to see such
efforts increased so that cycling becomes “a lifestyle”.

He supports wider measures to promote “soft mobility”, such as walking and cycling. “You need to
protect people from the heat, so you need plenty of shading. You need bicycle tracks, safe
passageway through highways, which is not the case in Abu Dhabi,” he said.

Public transport can connect points within a city but this needs to be combined with ways of enabling
people to travel to their final destination. He praised efforts in Dubai and Doha with regard to this.

“The metro lines are getting extended big time in order to cover areas not covered before,” he said.

“They’re [also] trying to cover what we know as the last mile' from your metro station.”

A year ago, Dubai authorities announced that the number of Dubai Metro stations would increase from

55 (with 11 tram stops) to 96 by 2030, with the number rising to 140 a decade after that.

A central aim is to transform Dubai into a 20-minute city, meaning within that timeframe someone can
meet their daily travel needs without using a car.

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Many cities around the world are seen as examples where good quality public transport has made life

easier for residents.

Prof Enoch cited the bus rapid transit system in Curitba in Brazil. With distinctive tube-like stations, it

has been credited in reports as having “sparked a transport revolution”.

“They built a busway system and then they built the city around the busway system,” he said. The bus
routes are like the spokes of a wheel radiating out from the city, Prof Enoch said, and development is
concentrated near them.

“It’s quite clever how they link the land use to the available transport capacity" he said. "When you
look at the map or a photo from above, you see high buildings and that’s where the bus routes are."

City development can reduce the need for cars, with high-density development more suited than low-
density areas to public transport systems, for example.

“An effective response to congestion is not to expand road infrastructure, but to reduce car

dependency,” said Dr Alexandra Gomes, a research fellow at the London School of Economics who
has analysed transport systems in cities including Abu Dhabi and Kuwait City.

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