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6 - Electrifying Public Transport Networks in Dubai

Environmental Benefits, Urban Improvements, and Social Challenges

from Part III - Infrastructure

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2025

By
Giovanna Potestà  and
Mario Tartaglia
Edited by
Wael A. Samad ,
Ahmed Badran  and
Elie Azar
Wael A. Samad
Affiliation:
Rochester Institute of Technology – Dubai
Ahmed Badran
Affiliation:
University of Qatar
Elie Azar
Affiliation:
Carleton University
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Summary

This chapter explores the environmental benefits and social challenges for the city of Dubai’s public transport network electrification plan. The Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) in Dubai is currently experimenting with the possibility of powering public buses with electric energy. The shift from fossil fuels to electric power has been experienced in many European cities with evidence of benefits for both the environment and citizens. The enhancement of public transport and the use of ‘CO2-free’ energy has made people less dependent on cars, reducing the amount of air pollution and easing traffic congestion on the roads. Air quality also improved significantly with direct and indirect results on people’s health and life quality. In the pledge for a reduction of CO2 emissions, the coverage of the entire territory of Dubai with an interconnected transport system, fuelled by electric power, is an achievement to pursue. The authors show evidence of this statement using data collected from a number of European experiences. To simulate the feasibility of a similar model in Dubai, the authors consider different contextual situations, such as climatic variation, urban forms, and social and cultural characteristics of users, enhancing the specificities of present technological research in alternative energy sources. Electrified and hydrogen-fuelled vehicles are analysed and their potential and limitations explained based on data and tests conducted in Europe.

Keywords

carbon freeelectrificationEuropean Union (EU)(GHG) containmentpublic transportUnited Arab Emirates (UAE)
Type
Chapter
Information
Carbon Neutrality in the Gulf
Between Well-intentioned Pledges and the Harsh Reality
 , pp. 117 - 133
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2025

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