Residents and tourists alike in recent times have complained that as Dubai’s popularity rises, so are its traffic jams. But rest assured the city - which prides itself on its infrastructure - is not one to sit on its laurels and is tackling the issue head on.
What’s up with Dubai’s traffic?
One visitor told Business Recorder: “I visited Dubai in early February. I was staying in the Barsha area and had work in Deira and downtown. Getting to and from these areas, especially between 4 pm and 8 pm, was taking almost an hour to an hour and a half - which was more than double the time it takes in non-rush hour time.”
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Meanwhile a resident agreed: “Places that were a 30-minute drive now take over two hours including the main highways and some popular roads.”
According to Time Out Dubai, the reasons for the jams include the fact that there are more people living in Dubai than ever before, it’s becoming easy to get a driving licence - part of the city’s commitment to inclusivity - and there are more taxis on the road.
What’s Dubai doing about it?
Two residents that Business Recorder spoke to remain confident that the government is working on solutions.
“The government has announced billions of dollars worth of projects over the next few years to improve the situation including wider roads, more public transportation, bridges, underpasses, and now link roads and roundabouts as well,” said one, while another echoed the same sentiment: “the government knows the shortcomings and is working on creating more transit routes and building more infrastructure to ease the pain. They’re also introducing more tolls on busier roads”.
And they would be right.
Last week, the government announced the signing of a traffic solutions implementation agreement worth AED6 billion ($1.6 billion) between Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) and Dubai Holding, an investment company that deals with large-scale development projects.
This was done in line with a desire to enhance Dubai’s road and transport network, support urban expansion, and improve mobility, the government’s statement said.
His Excellency Mattar Al Tayer, Director General, Chairman of the Board of Executive Directors of RTA, said the agreement “will enhance the capacity of internal roads and access points, leading to reduced travel times, improved connectivity for residents and visitors, and greater road safety for all users.”
The projects under this agreement will reduce travel time and increase the capacity of entry and exit points by 30% to 70%.
Part of the agreement is to improve infrastructure across key development communities and projects like Dubai Islands, Jumeirah Village Triangle, Palm Gateway, Al Furjan and Jumeirah Park.
Bridges and roads will be developed to improve access points for five key Dubai Holding developments - Jumeirah Village Circle, Dubai Production City, Business Bay, Palm Jumeirah, and International City - while four additional access points will be developed for Jumeirah Village Circle.
But that’s not all. RTA had earlier said it is spending AED798 million on Al Qudra Street Development Project, designed to optimise traffic flow, improve mobility for residents and visitors throughout the emirate, and support Dubai’s ongoing urban development and population growth.
Just last week, the organisation also said its working on a next-generation traffic signal control system which will adapt to real-time traffic changes by analysing data and making intelligent decisions to optimise signal timings. The system will be rolled out across all major intersections in Dubai, with project completion anticipated by the first half of 2026.
Earlier this year, Salik, Dubai’s electronic road toll system, introduced variable toll pricing across its network of toll gates, which means toll rates will be adjusted based on real-time traffic conditions.
Public transport
RTA’s initial agreement with billionaire Elon Musk’s The Boring Company to build the Dubai Loop - an underground high-speed transport network spanning 17km - got much media attention last month.
The MoU covers an initial pilot phase of 11 stations, transporting passengers in electric vehicles through tunnels at speeds up to 160km per hour. While the cost of such an ambitious project has not been disclosed, for context the Vegas Loop in the US, which is a 2.7-kilometer system, cost nearly $50 million.
In December last year, RTA awarded an AED20.5 billion contract for the Dubai Metro Blue Line project to a consortium of three companies.
Some out-of-the-box ideas
Dubai also has many futuristic transport plans in the works: last year it approved the ‘Suspended Transport Systems Project’, a 65km smart mobility system, while self-driving, bubble-shaped electric pods were shown at GITEX 2024.
Flying boats - or ‘seagliders’ - that will travel over the water from Dubai to Abu Dhabi in just half an hour could be seen in 2027, while flying taxis are expected next year.
Even though the traffic issue has done little to hamper Dubai’s popularity - it set a new record for international tourism, welcoming 18.72 million overnight visitors in 2024 - the government’s many initiatives mean residents and tourists can expect the problem to be alleviated fairly soon.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
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