As the mercury soars and people gasp in disbelief at how much hotter it is possible for the place to get, all eyes are now focused on the Dubai Metro, slowly but surely getting ready to take its place as the lifeline of the city, with its Red, Green and Blue arteries.....could anything be more exciting than watching the city taking shape with a full-fledged transportation system - I am myself quite a cynic and have always derided the RTA and powers-that-be for making that poor labourer toil in the sun at all odd hours of night and day - but one has to say that the final product has been an effort worth waiting for.....and then comes the icing on the cake, with the RTA just deciding to pitch the announcement of the Metro's fares (really reasonable and on par with Paris Metro it appears - Surprise, Surprise!) just ahead of the summer exodus from the city, as expats retreat on their annual holiday, and the city wears a deserted look...
There is a caveat though to all this Metro Mania - the existing public transport system, including the Dubai Taxis and Buses, are already circling the city wearing a pretty forlorn air! The sudden repatriation of huge numbers of the city's primarily foreign population, has resulted in a sudden over supply of transporatation....those long vestibule -style buses snaking along congested roads like Meena Bazaar make one pause to think - "Who rides on them anymore?" - there is an apparent sudden erosion in the numbers of the middle-income migrant population, who have all either lost their jobs and left home owing to the Global economic crisis, or have decided that it is far more intelligent at this point in time to work in their own countries which are doing reasonably well, regardless of the downturn. So who's going to ride in those high-speed metro trains? Well, time will tell.....let's fast track to September and see where the downturn and the upheaval etc. have left us! Watch this space....
http://www.arabianbusiness.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&Itemid=1&id=559610&sid=4
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