October 5th, 2014, YouGov
While horrendous traffic in Jumeriah Beach Park and Dubai Marina is commonplace, in the past few months, in particular, it has been driving people up the wall.
In an exclusive survey for Kippreport, YouGov reports that 49 per cent of respondents are unhappy with the amount of information available about the upcoming project. “Inconvenience of route (36 per cent), lack of information about the Dubai Tram (26 per cent), and inclination to use their private transportation (24 per cent) are the main reasons why respondents are not anticipating regular usage of the Tram.”
This begs the question, if people aren’t well informed about this disruptive project, why isn’t more information being shared with us?
The report shows that 68 per cent of the 722 Dubai-based respondents do not know what the Dubai Tram’s operational hours will be. Unsurprisingly, this result was more common in higher net worth individuals.
The survey also found that: “Two fifths (42 per cent) of respondents are not aware of the tram’s route. [And finally,] lack of awareness is highest around the ticket price (72 per cent).”
While residents of the city may feel relieved once the construction is complete, some still believe that the areas will remain jam-packed.
“Half of the sample believes that the tram will help in reducing traffic around the marina area, yet 25 per cent are not sure of the consequences,” the report says.
As it stands, the respondents are not too enthusiastic for a number of reasons.
“More than three fifths of respondents want to see better route coverage from the tram. More than one third (35 per cent) need to see additional links to other public transport and cheaper ticket prices (although awareness of price was low),” the results show.
Another concern is one that cannot be anticipated; with the number of reckless drivers in the country, some are beginning to worry about how these drivers will steer their way around the tram.
The report says: “Four in ten respondents shared their concern about the danger of cars driving recklessly close to the tram.”
This survey was conducted amongst 722 Dubai residents, using YouGov’s Omnibus online research service between 9 - 16 September 2014. The data is broadly representative of the online population in Dubai.
This article originally appeared on Kippreport.com.