The solid yellow lines marking a dedicated bus lane along First Al Khail Street in Al Quoz, have been replaced by regular broken white lanes, motorists have informed Khaleej Times.
Pictures taken on Tuesday show no more bus lane and private vehicles are now using those lanes. However, signs warning motorists of a Dh600 penalty have not yet been removed. Khaleej Times has sought the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) for a comment.
The erstwhile dedicated bus lane was only in one direction — starting from Al Quoz Bus Station all the way to the bowling centre heading towards Za’abeel, crossing Al Meydan Road. It did not have, however, the distinctive bright red markings and solid yellow lines found on Khalid Bin Al Waleed Road, Naif Street, and Al Ghubaiba Road.
Stay up to date with the latest news. Follow KT on WhatsApp Channels.
In a statement back in June, RTA told Khaleej Times: “The yellow lane is temporary and there is ongoing study to make a final decision to utilise this bus lane. The bus lanes were created during the Metro closures (following heavy rains on April 16) for transporting those affected between Metro stations.
Dedicated bus lanes
Motorists caught using the dedicated bus lanes will get a fine of Dh600. A solid yellow line means no passing – the motorist should not drive to the left or right side of this line. A broken yellow line means a driver may cross this to change lane or overtake another vehicle and a motorist must not cross if they are on the side of the solid line.
The erstwhile bus lane along First Al Khail Street has broken yellow lines to give way to motorists who are turning right to Latifa bint Hamdan Streeet towards Al Khail Road, or those taking the service road near the Galadari office.
Putting up dedicated bus lanes is seen by commuters and road safety experts as a boost to the reliability of public bus transport in Dubai.
Back in April, RTA announced plans to construct more dedicated bus and taxi lanes across Dubai. The aim was to cut journey time by nearly 60 per cent on some routes, with the new special lanes on Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmad Al Jaber Al Sabah, 2nd of December, Al Satwa, Al Nahda, Omar bin Al Khattab, and Naif streets. Extending the bus and taxi lanes is also expected to boost public transport usage by up to 30 per cent on some roads, RTA noted.
Ensuring punctuality of buses
Thomas Edelmann, founder and managing director of RoadSafetyUAE, earlier told Khaleej Times that dedicated bus lanes will not only shorten travel time but will also ensure punctual arrival of buses as they will not get caught up in traffic.
He added dedicated bus lanes “will lead to more bus users, which in turn will lead to fewer vehicles on the roads and reduction of traffic jam and pollution.”