This article covers the various forms of transport in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), by road, rail, air, water, etc.
Roads
In the UAE, they drive on the right. In the old days, it was a British protectorate and they used to drive on the left, but later they swapped to the right.[1] The United Arab Emirates have an extensive and well-developed road network, principally in the northern coastal area where the main population centres are located. Many of these roads have been improved to become multi-lane dual-carriageway motorways, coping with the high demand for road transportation.
Speed limits are 160 km/h (100 mph) on freeways (some freeway network's like E22 were imposed with a lower speed limit by the Abu Dhabi Government[2]), 100 km/h (60 mph) on rural roads, and 60 or 80 km/h (35 or 50 mph) on urban dual-carriageways. Heavy trucks and buses are installed with speed limiters to prevent overspeeding.
In 2006 UAE had a score of 190 killed per million population in traffic collisions linked to high speeds and poor safety culture.[3]
In 2010, UAE had a score near of 100 killed per million population in traffic collisions.[4]
In 2013, UAE had a score near of 109 killed per million population in traffic collisions, as estimated by the WHO[5]
Between 2014 and 2018 peopled killed by traffic has drop by 34%.[6]
List of motorways
E10 Abu Dhabi – Al Shahama. Length: 44 km (27 mi).
E311 Abu Dhabi – Ras al Khaimah. Length: 139 km (86 mi).
E611 Dubai – Umm al-Quwain. Also known as Emirates Road, formerly Dubai Bypass Road. Length: 110 km (68 mi).
Traffic in the United Arab Emirates
Although the UAE is considered a new country, its growth and development in the past few years made it a destination hub for people who seek opportunities, therefore increasing the population from 344,513 in the year of its establishment in 1971 to 9,591,853 in 2024.[7] Therefore, the increase in population causes an increase in traffic congestion in the country. However, Hamad Al Shehhi, director of the Roads and Transportation Authority (RTA), stated that “Congestion at intersections is expected to drop significantly by nearly 95%”.[8] One solution being studied in the UAE is to encourage public and shared modes of commuting to achieve the goal of becoming the best country to live in. Additionally, the Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure is performing studies and monitoring traffic movement 24/7, while also using Artificial Intelligence to understand the causes of traffic congestion and find solutions to solve it.[9] Therefore, traffic management plays an important role in seamlessly improving traffic and mobility for residents and tourists commuting within the country.
Current Traffic Congestion in Major Emirates
Percentage of Vehicles in the UAE in each Emirate
People spend 20 hours per week stuck in traffic (around 8.4% of their weekly time).[10] Dubai emirate comes in first place with 1.44 million vehicles per emirate, followed by Abu Dhabi with 0.98 million vehicles, then Sharjah with 0.46 million vehicles. In contrast, the other emirates combined (Ajman, Umm Al Quwain, Fujairah, and Ras Al Khaimah) have around 0.63 million vehicles.[11]
Dubai, being a globally recognized and go-to destination city with nearly 66.6 million visitors annually, has some challenges when it comes to traffic congestion between the two main roads that connect the other Emirates and the Dubai Emirate called: “UAE road” and “Mohammed Bin Zayed road”.[12] These roads play an important role in daily commuting because they act as a vital artery, linking the emirates of the country to each other.[13] Furthermore, these roads act as a traffic hub, contributing to facilitating traffic flow and the movement of transport between the Emirates.[13]
Factors that Contribute towards Traffic Congestion
Several factors contributed to the increased traffic congestion experienced by many drivers in the UAE over the past years, as follows:
Urbanization: Due to the rapid increase of populations in urban areas, more people opted to own their vehicles for transportation.[14]
Population growth: In the year 2012 Dubai’s Population was close to 2.3 million individuals. By the year 2022, Dubai has noted an increase in its population by 52.5% reaching 3.5 million people in 10 years.[15]
Economic: Traffic congestion increases the total cost of delivering goods, by delaying the arrival of goods. In addition, traffic congestion increases operational costs on the business corporation level. [16]
Impacts of Traffic Congestion on
People
Time spent in traffic causes an increase in stress levels between drivers and impacts their mood, making the drivers unstable and causing them to get frustrated.[citation needed]
Economy
Each minute a car's engine is turned on while being stuck in traffic causes significant fuel consumption, with approximately 1.6 million liters of fuel being consumed annually, which results in an increased amount of money spent on fuel refills. [17]
Environment
Yearly CO2 emissions due to traffic congestion reach 105 Kilograms of Carbon Dioxide released into the atmosphere, which leads to global warming. [18]
Major accidents
Six people were killed, at least 40 were injured and dozens of vehicles burned March 11, 2008 when hundreds of cars collided on a fog-shrouded Abu Dhabi–Dubai highway.[19]
Buses
A bus in Abu Dhabi
Bus services were introduced in Abu Dhabi by the Emirate in 2008 with four routes which were zero fare in their pilot year.[20] At the end of 2011, bus services in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi provided more than 95 service routes with 650 buses to transport 50 million passengers in the region. In the Bus Network Plan in 2013, 14 bus routes were operated in Abu Dhabi City.[21]
In Dubai, the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) operates bus services under the name DubaiBus. Buses in Sharjah are operated by Mowasalat, and in Ajman by the Ajman Transport Authority. There are also buses operating between the different Emirates due to the lack of rail connectivity, although this is planned to be rectified in the near future.[22][23]
Transport payment systems
Fares on Abu Dhabi buses are paid by the Hafilat Card since 2015, which is a contactless smart card to be flashed when entering and exiting the bus at mini-terminals inside of the bus.[24] It is currently only available for bus travelers but will gradually be expanded into the water transport systems and the planned Abu Dhabi Metro, Etihad Rail and the Abu Dhabi Tram System. The Ojra card is used by frequent travellers.
The Nol card is a contactless smart card used for Public Transport around Dubai and purchasing goods on ZOOM.[25] It is also used for payment on buses between Dubai and other cities.
Etihad Rail is a state-owned company, and is the national railway company. It was set up in 2009 to manage a national-level freight and passenger rail network within the country, and later to other nations of the Gulf Cooperation Council as part of Gulf Railway. The first phase of the system is complete and freight service has begun. The second phase will connect the railway to Mussafah, Khalifa and Jebel Ali ports in Dubai, and is planned to connect to the Saudi and Omani borders. In January 2016, construction of phase two was suspended for re-evaluation, while service on phase one continued. Costing approximately US$10 billion, the three-stage rail system is planned to have 1,200 km (750 mi) of railway connecting cities in UAE and linking to other Gulf countries. Abu Dhabi, Al Ain, Dubai, Sharjah, Fujairah, Ras Al Khaimah and Khor Fakkan will be linked by Etihad Rail when construction is completed.[26][27]
The Dubai Tram was launched in November 2014, and operates mainly in the Dubai Marina with new stations being constructed.[28] Another tram system is being planned for Sharjah and Ajman.[29]
The merchant marine consisted of 68 ships of 1,000 gross tonnage (GT) or over, totaling 1,107,442 GT or 1,795,235 tonnes deadweight (DWT) in the following types (1999 est.):[citation needed]
