The UITP (International Association of Public Transport) Middle East and North Africa (MENA) Transport Congress & Exhibition held in Dubai last month reflected the urgency of finding congestion-cutting solutions in the region.
The Middle East and North Africa region is experiencing rapid urbanisation, and with 66% of citizens now living in urban areas, cities are also facing increasing issues with urban sprawl as populations relocate to suburban areas.
At the same time, the combination of growth and the relatively low cost of running a car is leading to increasing motorisation and traffic congestion, as well as alarming air pollution, in cities across the region. UITP MENA is an RTA platform to expl0re public transport solutions that could help resolve this situation.
Despite congestion issues in the region, the event also provided participants cause for optimism, highlighting the major public transport development projects across the region — such as Riyadh’s planned six metro and three Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) lines and sustained efforts in Dubai that have achieved a 215% increase in public transport usage from 2006-2015. Dubai’s RTA also took the opportunity to announce a target of 25% driverless mobility by 2030.
Heading the event was Eng. Khalid Al Hogail, chairman of the UITP MENA region and CEO of the Saudi Public Transport Company, who said: “The big issue in the MENA region is that we have cheap oil, which has pushed against public transport for decades — but congestion is something we need to deal with whatever the oil price. The challenge here is now to build large networks in a very short time — before the cities become crowded and congested due to an absence of public mass transport.”
Volvo Bus is one company that has played a prominent role pioneering BRT worldwide, implementing systems in Mexico City; Cape Town; Bogota, Columbia and Curitiba, Brazil.
Jitesh K.V., Middle East director for Volvo Bus, noted: “The Middle East is evolving right now: in the UAE, the authorities have implemented a level of public transport networking, but it is still not really at a level where it caters to the requirements: they’re in a learning phase.
“The government of Dubai in particular is looking to increase the capacity of public transportation in the city together with the flow of tourists. The city may not be congested today in most areas, but this is going to happen, going with the vision of the government.”
However, he noted that as transport costs increase and the RTA invests more in public transport, people will gradually move to mass transportation. Today, the focus is towards the Dubai Expo 2020, when the city is expecting 20 million visitors in a very short span of time.
The RTA is familiar with the manufacturer from operating Volvo coaches between Dubai and Abu Dhabi for over seven years, during which time they have covered 1.8 million km.
MAN Truck & Bus was also in attendance at the event, where it demonstrated its expertise in compressed natural gas (CNG) buses.
Franz von Redwitz, MD, MAN Truck & Bus Middle East, noted: “Urbanisation, increasing pressure on transport systems, air and noise pollution and climate change all require new solutions for urban mobility. MAN recognises these challenges and has developed a reputation for offering environmentally friendly vehicles that also meet the standards expected by progressive public transport authorities.”
A critical advantage of a technological shift towards natural gas over conventional diesel engines, or even electric drive systems, is that the vehicles can also be run on treated biogas with no need for technical modifications — making their operation virtually CO2 neutral.
Von Redwitz added that MAN has more than 50 years’ experience in CNG-powered buses with authorities across the globe proving the viability of CNG as an alternative fuel choice.
MAN secured the “Bus of the Year 2015” for its ‘Lion’s City GL’ CNG bus, which was commended for its simultaneously environmentally friendly and yet powerful and economical drive.
Even without the use of biogas, the Euro VI bus reduces CO2 emissions by approximately 17% compared to diesel vehicles, and due to the significantly reduced fuel costs, the Lion’s City bus can save approximately 15% on the life-cycle costs over 10 years compared to a diesel bus.
Indeed, MAN Truck & Bus has already conducted trials of its Lion’s City CNG bus at the behest of Abu Dhabi’s Department of Transport, operating for eight months in the UAE alongside regular diesel-powered buses to achieve a direct comparison. The result demonstrated a higher exhaust gas quality compared to diesel buses and lower levels of nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxides and particles in the air.
The RATP Group, a passenger transport specialist that operates the Paris metro, tram and bus system, is also well positioned to provide the region with new transport systems, having secured the project to implement, operate and maintain the first bus network in Riyadh, including over 100 bus lines and three depots, in partnership with its Saudi partner SAPTCO.
Under another local joint-venture agreement, RATP will also be involved in the mobilisation and operation of the first tramway system in Doha after signing a partnership with the UAE-based Lakhraim Business Group in June 2015.
In the wider MENA region, RATP Dev operates the Casa Tram system in Casablanca, Morocco, and four transport systems in Algeria: Algiers Metro and Tramway, the Oran Tramway and Constantine Tramway, and four new tramway operations will begin in the next two years.
In 2015, Volvo Bus also secured two large tenders in Egypt: to deliver 150 buses to both the Alexandria and Cairo public transport authorities in Egypt, where small buses provide transport to around 20% of the population.
Northern Ireland, UK-based Wrightbus also highlighted the GCC-spec StreetLite at its stand. Paul Brannigan, Middle East director for WrightBus, noted: “Since opening our regional office, we’ve been actively promoting the brand and our core product range, most recently with the demonstration of a 9.7m-long six-cylinder StreetLite in Kuwait. The vehicle has covered 30,000 miles to date and we will continue to showcase its features throughout the region.”
Wrightbus was also responsible for the development of the 9t Bharat Benz bus developed for the Indian market in partnership with Daimler.
Aside from buses, mobility services like Uber, or the locally based Careem, also have a valuable role to play in helping to reduce car ownership. Private cars are parked 95% of their lifetime and during the 5% of the time they are driven, are less space-efficient than public transport. In Paris, 65% of Uber trips start or end within 200m of a metro station — so they perform a ‘last mile’ function within the transport system.
Alain Flausch, UITP Secretary General, added: “Public transport accounts for 1.2 billion trips across the globe each day. It is this vital role that it plays, in combination with new mobility services, that will ultimately offer more flexible and convenient travel options that will help our cities to become less car dependent.”
At the recent 61st UITP World Congress in Milan, Mattar Al Tayer, chairman of the RTA, stated that smooth transport system also plays a role in a society’s happiness. He noted that by 2020, the RTA’s plan expects the population of buses to grow to 2,000 buses — enough capacity for two million passengers per day.
