Abu Dhabi, capital city of the United Arab Emirates, is growing fast. The urban population is around 2.5 million, out of 3.8 million people in the emirate as a whole – an increase of 80% over the last decade and a half.
“We will still be a city that has a lot of cars: we are investing heavily now to ensure that we have the right operational platform”
Moving so many people to and from work, leisure and education is crucial to keep the engines of commerce going, and the emirate sees transportation as a key driver for economic development. “The new mobility ecosystem in any city can play a major role in the growth and development of that city and to meet [citizens’] aspirations,” says a spokesperson from the Integrated Transport Centre (ITC).
The ITC - which also has the brand identity of Abu Dhabi Mobility - is under the umbrella of the Department of Municipalities and Transportation, responsible for both urban development and transportation. The two go hand in hand.
New focus for mobility
The ITC explains: “We need to ensure that we have the right urban plan that can complement the right mobility ecosystem. We came with a new focus for mobility to ensure that, at the end of the day, mobility needs to be ensuring quality of life: we are talking about reducing congestion, providing public transport, ensuring walking options.”
In the ITC’s plan, quality of life is the first of four pillars on which transport in Abu Dhabi is based. Walking, biking and scooting are being encouraged; people need to feel that the system is supporting and meeting their expectations and lifestyle. They need to be able to take part in active travel – the ITC is overseeing a 10-fold increase in infrastructure for cycling, from 300km to 3,000km – and they need to feel that it is safe to send their children to school by public school buses, rather than taking them in private cars.
Transport also needs to be sustainable, with an emphasis on electrification and alternative fuels such as hydrogen. “We need to ensure that public transport is green,” ITC insists. “We have a responsibility here in UAE to ensure that sustainability is clear in our mobility. And when we talk about sustainability, we are not just talking about electrifying a fleet. It's a wider understanding, about ensuring a diversity of choice for the people.” So owning a car is fine – but infrastructure needs to exist in order to make car choices more sustainable, for example through having sufficient electric vehicle charging points available.
AI technology
“The third pillar for the new ecosystem of mobility we have is to ensure we are smart,” the spokesperson continues. “How we designed the city 10 years ago is different than we design it today - and for sure, will be different than what we design [in 10 years’ time]. But we believe in Abu Dhabi that, if we know that AI technology is the real backbone for the future of mobility, we need to capitalise on this option today.”
Therefore the emirate is investing heavily in ITS systems and in smart parking and mass transit: “We are updating our ticketing system; we need to ensure people have their choice of payment. They need even to benefit from their usage of public and shared mobility. We are introducing Mobility as a Service now in the city. So managing parking, toll gates, inspection, traffic management - we are planning a multiple programme to upgrade our operation.”
“We need to ensure that whatever mobility ecosystem we bring, it supports economic development”
After quality of life, sustainability and smart mobility, there is a fourth and final pillar to Abu Dhabi’s transportation ecosystem: the economy. This factor is always present, embedded in ITC’s thinking: “But now we bring the focus - we need to ensure that whatever mobility ecosystem we bring, it supports economic development. If the tourism sector does not feel that the mobility system supports their tourism plan, we have an issue.” The same goes for sectors from education to logistics and aviation; they must all feel supported by Abu Dhabi Mobility’s plans, use of technology and regulation if the move to shift people to different modes is to be a success.
In other words, mobility must support all these economic sectors and meet their requirements. This is the focus of Abu Dhabi Mobility’s efforts: “A city without an economy, with no jobs, people will leave. Nobody will visit. So we need to ensure that when they want to visit Abu Dhabi, they have a choice.”
However, the emirate’s authorities are also realistic: many citizens require private transport: “You can't just get people out of their cars - they need them.” But equally, you can’t just drive where you want – at least not without paying. The Darb toll gate system aims to reduce traffic congestion and promote the use of public transport. Vehicle drivers are charged 4 AED ($1) to go through the gates, morning and evening.
And if you drive cars, you need somewhere to put them when you get to your destination: MawaQiF, the parking sector of the ITC, has developed a parking management programme that aims to ensure a more accessible and less congested city, supporting Plan Abu Dhabi 2030.
Changing behaviour
For ITC, behaviour change is the key. “If somebody has, for example, 10 trips every day, and we can ensure that he moves four of them to an alternative from his car - by walking and public transport – that’s an achievement,” the spokesperson says. “So this is the way of changing the behaviour of people.”
Abu Dhabi Mobility is also keen to learn from other places round the world: “A lot of cities have a good way of thinking. Always, you will have something they can improve, and we need to continue to improve ourselves.”
ITC has noted, for example, plans to make London’s famous shopping road, Oxford Street, pedestrian-only, and has observed that UK politicians are supporting the idea of a major space to walk and enjoy – without motor vehicles.
It goes back to the idea of choices. “We are not trying to banish the car owner,” the ITC spokesperson insists again. “We believe that the new model is ensuring diversity of choice. For example, if you want to use your car, use your car.” Abu Dhabi Mobility would prefer that drivers change from internal combustion engine models to electric – but for that to happen: “We need to ensure that there is infrastructure for you. We need to ensure there's parking for you. We need to ensure the registration for you is there so we support you.”
“Nobody is going out of his home just to use transportation - it's to reach for a need”
Meanwhile, public transport needs to be affordable, comfortable and reliable, with a schedule that actually suits users’ needs. The question ‘Can I depend on this bus service?’ is of vital importance to riders: “Because in the end of the day, nobody is going out of his home just to use transportation - it's to reach for a need. So we need to ensure the distance between where you are and to meet your need is served by different choices: car is there, cycling is there.”
As in the rest of the world, people in Abu Dhabi are moving away from the idea of paying for assets they don’t really have to own. When it comes to mobility, they don’t necessarily want to make a capital investment to ensure their mode of transport – they just need to ensure that they have access for whatever they need. Hence there is an emphasis on shared cars and taxis now too; in addition, WeRide robotaxis are already operating in Abu Dhabi and Uber plans to add them to its app in the emirate.
Weather is a factor in people’s transportation choices. Temperatures of 40 degrees C (104 degrees F) are common in Abu Dhabi’s summer months, so attracting people to public transport, such as buses, requires riders to be looked after while they’re waiting. Standing in the sun for long periods is not an option.
ITC is particularly proud that it has a significant number of bus shelters which are already air conditioned. There are currently around 450 in Abu Dhabi, with plans to add another 300. “Public transport is not about your seat within the bus. It's about the moment that you leave your home until you reach [your destination],” the spokesperson says.
Navigating Abu Dhabi
To make travel planning easier, all schedules are available on an app and on Google Maps, and monthly passes mean bus travel costs less than $1 per day. All of these elements will add up to make Abu Dhabi easier to navigate for work and leisure – and to ensure the emirate’s economic growth and competitiveness.
But ITC does not expect any of these initiatives to eradicate the problems of congestion, decarbonisation and accessibility overnight: “There is not one pillar that will solve all the issues. It’s about all the small things you need to bring it together to ensure that there is a solution that meet your expectations. So we are working on that; we are working hard on that issue.”
While there are no immediate plans in Abu Dhabi to build a metro like UAE neighbour Dubai, it does have a bus rapid transit (BRT) system as a key element of its public transportation solution, along with ART - automated rapid transit – which has the appearance of a long tram on wheels. This operates on a 27km route, running from Al Reem Mall to Marina Mall, passing along Zayed the First Street and Corniche Street on Abu Dhabi island.
And metro and light rail will come, ITC suggests, “at the right time, with the growth of usage and urban development of Abu Dhabi”.
One area which is getting attention right now is signalised intersections to improve road safety. More than 500 signalised junctions in Abu Dhabi have priority for emergency and first responder vehicles, ITC says, while a mobile traffic management centre is on hand to manage major events: “It is clear that ITS will play a major role in traffic management.”
The spokesperson points to Abu Dhabi’s upgrade to a new traffic management platform and its traffic modelling and simulation work. “A city is about the behaviour of the people within the city. Dubai is different, Amsterdam is different - it's about the choice and behaviour of the people.” Harnessing Big Data to analyse and forecast what’s coming is crucial.
Nothing stands still
“We will still be a city that has a lot of cars,” Abu Dhabi Mobility acknowledges. “We are investing heavily now to ensure that we have the right operational platform we need.”
Nothing stands still: the emirate is growing, with future plans for a new high-density area outside the island of Abu Dhabi: “The urban plan is coming, and also mobility is coming. Because in any city, it's about the economy, urban distribution, and how to connect this by a solid mobility system. So we are going in this cycle.”
To return to one of Abi Dhabi Mobility’s major themes: “We are not trying to manage the car owner. We don't want to shift everyone to use cycles or everyone to use cars or everyone to use whatever. We are trying to ensure that the new ecosystem gives diversity of choice.”
