Water Buses (2)

In July, the RTA took out an extensive series of ads for a new service: air conditioned water buses. Service was to begin on 15 July.

Sure enough, the water bus ran on 15 July, but only for HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashed and entourage.

The next announcement was that the public would be permitted to ride on 16 August, so I straggled to the Dubai Old Souk station. No water bus. Ticket dispensers for the water bus were still wrapped in the original plastic.

I called the RTA, and was told it only operates at two (of the planned 7) stations. So I plodded to the only open station on the Bur Dubai side of the creek and bought a ticket.

I had to wait about 20 minutes in the sauna that is Dubai in summer. During that time, an enthusiastic RTA employee promised me that, eventually, there would be water bus service to the other Emirates, alleviating the Dubai traffic problems. Soon, she promised, the water bus will run from Bur Dubai to the end of the creek (Arabic, Ras al Khor) where a large car park will allow commuters from Sharjah to leave their cars and ride into Dubai, avoiding both the traffic and the Salik.

Finally, the water bus arrived and I got on. Of the 5 official routes, the bus operates over route 6 for now, until the other stations open and it will be able to ply an official route.

The water bus is large and very comfortable, once one gets aboard. This is a very posh way to cross the creek. The boarding pier is even carpeted.

The seats are large and the A/C works. Life vests are available under every seat.

For nocturnal use, a glow-in-the-dark sign saying 'PYROTECHNICS' marks the first aid cabinet.

The water bus costs four times as much as the older water taxis, called abras. (The plural is an Anglicization, since I have no idea how to form the correct plural of abra in Arabic.)

So I made my way back on an abra.