Al Ain… Finally a BUStling City
A month ago the Abu Dhabi (or Al Ain) Department of Transport started the Al Ain bus services. Starting out with 4 bus routes in thirty minute intervals that all commonly meet in the city center, this is such a welcome sight to a town that is slowly coming into terms with modern life. Al Ain, is known for its greenery, low lying buildings, confusing roundabouts and laid back lifestyle! Now, the city that is usually mistaken for as an emirate is waking up up.
With the implementation of their modern taxi fleet, which will replace the privatized taxis owned by locals, life is slowly getting more expensive. People use to fight for the “golden” (cheaper) taxis but as their renewal permits are slowly being declined, we are forced to go with the “silver” taxis. Although less expensive than their Dubai counter parts, it really isn’t affordable anymore. This did concern me in the beginning because I did not have an alternative looking beyond 2010 but thankfully, to the wonderful thinking of the transport department, they’ve finally decided to have a “proper” bus service for this green city. Having a bus fleet, which only costs 1AED, has made my traveling a bit easier on the pocket as well as everyone else. Although, the this type of travel is nothing new to me, it sure beats paying a bigger amount or even sharing a cab with others who reek of havoc and I do mean “skunk-reek.”
The bus system is divided into 4 routes. Maqam West - Ain Al Fayada (990 - Blue Line) , Al Foaa - Al Bateen East (930 - Yellow Line), Al Nabbagh - Zakher (940 - Red Line) and Maqam East - Bawadi Mall (980 - Green Line). The buses all come from four major outskirts, converge at the city and then out to other outskirt areas of Al Ain, usually areas where taxis don’t go or charge you a higher than normal fee. Although at this early stage you could consider this more of something experimental, they’ve got this thing spot on! Traffic has never been an issue in Al Ain and now that they knocked out the city roundabouts and made traffic flow smoother.
It isn’t as much as a hassle unlike in Dubai but the thing for Al Ain is not to sit on it’s laurels. At these early stages, there are times that the bus already gets full and with only a 30 minute time table, it will be the longest half an hour wait you will ever have to bear. That isn’t even taking into consideration the rush hour that happens in the city during the evening. But for now, while the turn out is low, holding onto my iPod’s addictive tunes, with my sunglasses covering my sleepy eyes, it’s quite comforting to know that there is an additional 30 minutes of nap time for me going to and leaving from work.
With the implementation of their modern taxi fleet, which will replace the privatized taxis owned by locals, life is slowly getting more expensive. People use to fight for the “golden” (cheaper) taxis but as their renewal permits are slowly being declined, we are forced to go with the “silver” taxis. Although less expensive than their Dubai counter parts, it really isn’t affordable anymore. This did concern me in the beginning because I did not have an alternative looking beyond 2010 but thankfully, to the wonderful thinking of the transport department, they’ve finally decided to have a “proper” bus service for this green city. Having a bus fleet, which only costs 1AED, has made my traveling a bit easier on the pocket as well as everyone else. Although, the this type of travel is nothing new to me, it sure beats paying a bigger amount or even sharing a cab with others who reek of havoc and I do mean “skunk-reek.”
The bus system is divided into 4 routes. Maqam West - Ain Al Fayada (990 - Blue Line) , Al Foaa - Al Bateen East (930 - Yellow Line), Al Nabbagh - Zakher (940 - Red Line) and Maqam East - Bawadi Mall (980 - Green Line). The buses all come from four major outskirts, converge at the city and then out to other outskirt areas of Al Ain, usually areas where taxis don’t go or charge you a higher than normal fee. Although at this early stage you could consider this more of something experimental, they’ve got this thing spot on! Traffic has never been an issue in Al Ain and now that they knocked out the city roundabouts and made traffic flow smoother.
It isn’t as much as a hassle unlike in Dubai but the thing for Al Ain is not to sit on it’s laurels. At these early stages, there are times that the bus already gets full and with only a 30 minute time table, it will be the longest half an hour wait you will ever have to bear. That isn’t even taking into consideration the rush hour that happens in the city during the evening. But for now, while the turn out is low, holding onto my iPod’s addictive tunes, with my sunglasses covering my sleepy eyes, it’s quite comforting to know that there is an additional 30 minutes of nap time for me going to and leaving from work.