Dubai’s skyline may be impressive, but for many office workers and residents, the struggle to navigate tall buildings is becoming a serious time-waster. Long elevator queues are increasingly common, with people losing 30 minutes just waiting for a lift during peak hours.
At the 25-storey Grosvenor Business Tower in Barsha Heights, serpentine queues stretch for up to several meters during office hours. Dozens of office workers, desperate to get to their floors, line up hoping to squeeze into the next available elevator — regardless of its direction.
“It doesn’t matter if the lift is going up or down, we just get in,” said Rishabh, a financial consultant working on one of the upper floors. “Our logic is simple: what goes up must come down, and vice versa.”
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Creative strategies
Some office workers have even resorted to creative strategies to beat the queues. “I sometimes take the stairs up a few floors and catch the lift from there,” said a real estate broker. Tala S, a Filipino, shared her own trick: “People have all sorts of hacks. I, for example, go down to the basement parking two floors below to catch the lift, even though I don’t have a car.”
Anna F, another worker, described how uncomfortable the situation can be. “It gets hot, sweaty, and smelly in there,” she said. “By the time I reach my floor, I have to stop by the wash room and freshen up with deodorant before heading to my desk. I just wish people took better care of their personal hygiene because sometimes it’s downright nauseating.”
Housewives in residential buildings face their own challenges. Carrying heavy groceries while waiting for the lift can be an ordeal. “I have to plan my shopping trips carefully,” said an Indian mother in Al Barsha. “If the queues are too long, the groceries start weighing on my arms, and by the time I get to my apartment, I’m exhausted.”
Routines to avoid being late
Many workers now include elevator wait times in their daily schedules. “I have to leave earlier than usual just to account for the lift delays,” said Ahmed, an office manager. “It’s frustrating, but it’s become a part of my routine to avoid being late.”
In the 38-storey Escape Tower, a residential building in Business Bay, the same scene plays out in the evenings. Residents returning home face lengthy waits just to get inside their building. “It takes me 15 minutes to get home from the office, but then another 15 minutes just to get in the lift,” said a fitness instructor who lives there. “Time is money these days, and losing it like this is frustrating.”
Escape Tower is one of the few buildings in the area that allows bachelors to live in, making it a popular choice for young men and women due to its proximity to the Metro station. “Standing outside waiting for the lift in this heat is stifling,” he added. “You’re already exhausted from the day, and then you’re standing around sweating before you can even get to your apartment.”
Managing the crowd
Both Grosvenor Business Tower and Escape Tower have security personnel to manage the crowds and maintain order. However, the stress of long waits sometimes causes tensions to boil over. At another Business Bay building, two men recently got into a fight inside a packed elevator. “The lift was full, and it wouldn’t go up. One of them had to step out, but neither was willing,” said an eyewitness. The dispute quickly turned physical before being broken up.
High-rise office towers in older parts of Dubai, such as Deira and Bur Dubai, are not immune to the same elevator congestion. Delivery riders, often pressed for time, find this particularly frustrating. Afzal a rider from Pakistan, shared his struggles: “I dread delivering to certain buildings. You can lose 10-15 minutes just waiting for the lift. It’s hard when you’re trying to meet delivery times, and every minute counts.”