Could free public buses work in the UAE? Assalaamualaikum - some thoughts
Assalaamualaikum - should public buses be free in the UAE? Cities around the world have tried this idea for years, with mixed results.
A recent push in some places promises faster, free buses, but funding such schemes in big cities can be huge. Even transport experts who want more people to use buses say the money has to come from somewhere.
Free services can help more people, especially lower-income families, to get around. But they can also strain the system and cause overcrowding if capacity and connections aren’t improved at the same time.
Some experts think a better route is to use fares to fund faster, more reliable and better-connected services that actually tempt people away from driving. As one Dubai-based transport consultant put it, making transport free sounds simple, but examples show it can have unintended effects.
He pointed to Tallinn, where free buses and trams for residents increased public transport use - mainly by people who had been walking or cycling - but didn’t cut car use much. By contrast, Dunkirk combined free fares with big service upgrades and saw a real drop in private car trips.
In the UAE we have particular challenges: cheap fuel, heavy reliance on cars and still-developing public transport links. Research shows over 90% of people here depend on road transport daily, so many say the focus should be on fast, rail-based mass transit and better connections to stations.
The Emirates are investing heavily: new metro lines, expanded bus routes, improved stations, and the upcoming Etihad Rail passenger service. Ridership has grown in recent years as shared mobility and public transport options improve.
Fares in the UAE are already quite low compared with many countries, so some experts doubt that making buses free would be the main solution. They argue improving convenience, speed, and first/last-mile links will do more to change travel habits than removing fares.
Other places that tried free transport saw higher ridership, but also funding shortfalls later. Many transport planners prefer to invest in better service rather than free fares, because better service tends to raise ridership sustainably.
For the UAE, the likely best path is continued investment in faster, more frequent and better-connected services, plus smart integration for taxis and other last-mile options around rail stations, rather than simply eliminating fares.
What do you think - would free buses make sense here, or should we push for faster, better-connected transit first? JazakAllahu khair.
https://www.thenationalnews.co