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return home in the evening. But now it takes nearly one-and-a-half hour in
the morning and more than two hours on my way back,” said Anum Noor,
a long-time UAE resident who commutes daily between the two emirates
for work.
"Traffic within the emirates of Dubai and Sharjah has also increased. I
deliver goods to customers across different locations in the two emirates
daily; I barely manage to complete my work within my time because of the
increased traffic,” said Waqas Saghar.

City Lost hours in 2023 Lost hours in 2022
Dubai 33 22
Abu Dhabi 20 12
Umm Al Quwain 15 2
Al Ain 9 11
Fujairah 8 6
Dubai toll operator Salik’s data showed a similar trend. Salik had 3.7 million
vehicles registered at the end of 2022, which increased to 4.0 million at the
end of 2023.
In Abu Dhabi, motorists lost 20 hours due to traffic delays and congestion,
15 hours for vehicle owners in Umm Al Quwain, 9 hours in Al Ain and 8
hours in Fujairah. The UAE capital’s population also expanded at a fast
pace, surpassing Dubai in 2024 to reach nearly 3.8 million.
After the Covid-19 pandemic, companies across all sectors in the UAE have
been on a hiring spree, fuelling the economy and leading to a surge in
population and subsequent traffic.
In order to beat traffic congestion, the UAE is working on an air taxi
transport system launch next year which will also reduce travel time
between Dubai and Abu Dhabi in just 30 minutes. Travel time within the
emirates will also be shortened for commuters.
The study analysed 947 urban areas worldwide. Commute times were
calculated by looking exclusively at the time it takes to get to and from
major employment centres within an urban area from surrounding
commuting neighbourhoods.
Globally, New York topped the list of the most congested areas in the 2023
Inrix Global
Traffic Scorecard where drivers lost 101 hours to traffic jams in 2023, down
from 105 hours in 2022. Financially, this cost the urban area more than $9.1
billion in lost time.
New York was followed by Mexico City, London, Paris and Chicago. London
dropped from 2nd position in 2022 to third, Paris dropped from third to
fourth, and Mexico City jumped from fourth to second rank.
Traffic congestion around the world continued to grow in 2023. Of all 947
urban areas analysed, delays increased by 78 per cent and decreased by 19
per cent, with 3 per cent unchanged.

https://www.khaleejtimes.com/uae/transport/uae-traffic-woes-dubai-motorists-lose-33-hours-
in-congestion-in-2023