Dubai motorists experience annual average of 35 hours of traffic delay
But that puts them well outside of the top 100 most congested cities…
The INRIX 2024 Global Traffic Scorecard uses congestion data across more than 900 global cities, to compare traffic delay times and estimate consequential economic cost.
Sky Pods
Sky Pods
skyway
Sky Way
Metro Blue Line 2
Blue Line Metro Station
Metro Blue Line 4
Blue Line Metro Station
dubai metro blue line
Blue Line Metro Route Map
Newly built futuristic metro station at the Business Bay area of Dubai, UAE
Dubai Metro
Dubai driverless metro with futuristic city skyline on background in Dubai, UAE
Driverless metro in Dubai approaching the subway station with futuristic city skyline on background in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Persian Gulf.
Virgin Hyperloop feat
Hyperloop
flying taxis in Dubai
Flying Taxis
Joby Aircraft flying taxis in Dubai
Flying Taxis
Joby Aircraft flying taxis in Dubai
Joby Aircraft flying taxis in Dubai
RTA Driverless taxi
Self driving taxis are coming to UAE streets as part of the Dubai Autonomous Transportation Strategy
weride txai driverless car
Driverless taxi
Jumeirah Golf Estates Metro Station
Smart Stations
Dubai Floc Duo Rail
Dubai Floc Duo Rail
The 2024 data shows that Dubai motorists experienced, on average, 35 hours of traffic delays for the year. For some it will be higher, for others it will be less – because that’s how averages work.
That figure is up 6 per cent from 2023, but a pretty substantial 45 per cent increase on 2022 – and that’s largely because of the significant nett increase in residents coming to Dubai in that period, habibi.
World view
But when you compare it to other similar cities in the world, your traffic woes really could be far worse.
People in Istanbul, the most congested city on the list, lose an average of 105 hours to traffic delays in 2024. New Yorkers sacrificed 102-hours of their lives to the great congestion spirit – the same number as Chicagoans; in London it was a 101 hour pit for the bumper-to-bumper free-time-dumper; Mexico City motorists spent 97 hours idling and passive-aggressively spamming their car horns. Paris, LA, Cape Town and Brisbane also featured in the top 10 busiest cities for traffic.
Dubai’s traffic delay date placed them in a respectable 154th place in the lag time league table. It’s also a city that is fully invested in exploring all avenues to improve the commuting experience…
Traffic solutions
Last year the RTA announced a Dhs16 billion Main Roads Development Plan 2024-2027, that included 22 individual projects to improve traffic in Dubai.
Amongst them, there were plans for extensive road improvements, dynamic Salik charges and toll gate coverage expansions.
There are projects connected with AI and smart mobility; blueprints to expand Bus and Taxi Lanes in 2025 and 2026 with the goal of reducing bus travel times by 41 per cent. They’re also to help the Self-Driving Transport Strategy 2030.
But by far the most exciting traffic solutions are those that fall under the bracket of ‘the future of public transport’. This includes (see gallery above), vehicles like sky pods, a partially underground Blue Line Metro service, sky trains, Hyperloops, inter-emirate passenger trains, modular trams, flying taxis and autonomous taxis.
Re: Cycling
If you’re a fan of getting on your bike – there’s more good news with a strategy to link up routes from the coast to inland areas. This will mean cycling tacks in Jumeirah, Al Sufouh, and Marina will have direct connections with routes in Al Qudra, Saih Al Salam, and Nad Al Sheba via Al Barsha and Dubai Hills.
Iamges: Getty
