True to its status as the leading metropolis, Dubai has set goals in the field of environment safety and sustainable transport, with specific targets set to reduce emissions from vehicles. With emission from vehicular transport being one of the top threats to the environment, the Dubai Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) has developed a strategic  plan to increase non-polluting trips.

Apart from encouraging public transport modes that are low on emission including metro and buses, the RTA is planning to develop cycling and walking-only zones in order to further improve environmental standards in Dubai.

In order to realise its vision of a better environment the RTA has developed a Health, Safety and Environmental (HSE) Policy.

Also part of the RTA?s environment strategy is the use of recycled material in its construction projects like the recycled asphalt and sub-base material for construction of roads. The recycled sub-base or commonly known as ?crushed aggregates? are locally produced from Construction & Demolition waste. Furthermore, the recycled asphalt is also being used to maintain certain types of roads in Dubai.

Below I would take you through the environmentally friendly ways of transportation available in Dubai :

Dubai Metro

The Dubai Metro has caught the world?s attention for its unique offerings. Dubai Metro is the world's longest fully automated (driveless) rail system in the world  with its rail network extending up to 75 kilometres,and has 47 stations, including 9 underground stations. The curved, shell like stations are reminiscent of the pearl shell, which harks back to Dubai?s traditional pearling past. It is worth mentioning that the stations themselves are part of a public transport network, which means that people are not using their private cars, thus eliminating their individual carbon footprints.

On the sustainability front, the rationalization and optimization of the station?s structure, makes the structure much lighter and efficient, thereby using less structural tonnage.

Other features include:

Use of highly insulated cladding, which went beyond the local authority?s requirements, to reduce comfort cooling loads and thereby lower energy usage.

High performance glazing: The amount of glazing and the orientation were optimized to allow controlled natural daylight to enter the interiors but also to prevent excessive solar gains.

Control of excessive solar gains using solar shading devices, again reducing cooling loads and lowering energy usage.

Energy efficient light fittings were specified, and their numbers optimized.

Natural light itself was used as much as practical for the Underground stations, thereby lessening energy usage.

Wherever possible the design teams specified and sourced products that were readily available in the Middle East such as featured glass and ceramic tiles and all viaduct prefabrication was completed in Dubai.

 Dubai metro turned 4 years old on 9th Sept 2013(it was unveiled on 09-09-2009)

Metro by its nature is an environmentally sustainable mode of transportation. It operates on clean fuel (electric) with advanced features such as regenerative braking, which regenerates electricity while slowing down to fuel other trains in the fleet.

The Dubai Metro was founded on a Plan (i.e. Environmental Impact Assessment) that was conscious of sustainability requirements from day one. The construction of Metro had due regard for all environmental considerations – i.e. dust control, ventilation, noise control, etc. – by use of modern equipment.

The concept of energy conservation in the Dubai Metro is based on choosing the best power techniques and energy efficient equipment distribution. The practice is based on following main principles:

õ Utilising the regenerative power generated during train braking. This re-generated power is used by trains during the acceleration mode.

õ Air conditioning at stations and depots is provided through the District Cooling technology which has higher energy efficiency.

õ Highly efficient electromechanical equipment are used along with fully integrated energy control system at all Metro systems to conserve energy.

Public Buses

With the shifting of individual motorists to public transport being one of RTA?s prime objectives, the authority is constantly seeking to improve the quality of bus services as well its fuel efficiency and green credentials.

RTA?s latest fleet of buses is fitted with engines of Euro IV standards and operate on special diesel that contains only 50ppm sulphur i.e. 10 times less than the normal diesel which contains 500ppm sulphur.

The new bus fleet is manufactured with Euro IV standard engines which are the most eco-friendly version as these engines minimise emissions by use of Selective Catalytic Reduction technique as well as Exhaust Gas Recirculation.

Water Transport

As water transport is one of the oldest and popular mode of transport in Dubai, the RTA is planning to improve its efficiency as well.

With energy efficient waterbuses already proving to be successful and the water taxis also boasting of green credentials, RTA is now working on models of environmentally-friendly Abras(boats).

RTA has launched the Rowing Abra that uses small electric engine instead of a diesel engine, which considerably reduces the environmental impact. We are also studying and piloting feasibility of CNG Abra. This is expected to have a great environmental impact because if the trial succeeds this Abra shall have zero emissions, reduced noise pollution, and will have same or even more efficient maneuverability. However, this will require specially designed and manufactured engines for the current Abras, which is currently being worked out

Coming from an oil-producing economy this multi-pronged sustainable transport policy is indeed significant and if successfully implement will be a benchmark for the region?s other big cities to follow.

Also being launched are a series of projects, including an extended railway plan until 2030, a car pooling project, a pedestrian bridges project and bicycle racecourse.

Dubai's transport authority has approved plans to introduce 20 hybrid vehicles (eco-friendly Toyota Camrys )to its taxi fleet in the first step to curb pollution.

Also electric-fuel powered vehicles will be deployed in Dubai this year. The move has been taken in the context of a master plan to curb the pollution resulting from vehicles exhausts, and make vehicles more eco-friendly in Dubai.

The RTA is making expeditious efforts to bring about a paradigm shift in the infrastructure of mass transit systems with a view to making them environment-friendly and capable of meeting the growing demand for transit means in the emirate.

A trial run of fuel-electric hybrid vehicles within the Dubai Taxi fleet showed that they covered more than 550,000km "without experiencing failures or major maintenance issues in major components". Fuel efficiency improvement amounted to 33 percent, and carbon dioxide emissions dropped by 33 percent.

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