New marine transit line boosts cooperation between Dubai and Sharjah

The newly launched ferry service to carry passengers between Al Ghubaiba Marine Station in Dubai and Aquarium Marine Station in Sharjah is very good news for the UAE residents, specially for the people who are living in Sharjah (“Public transport modes lift 4m riders,” Aug.16, Gulf Today).

It marks the first marine transit service being operated between Dubai and any other emirate. The service launch is part of RTA’s plan to improve marine transportation services and ease people’s mobility between the two emirates.

The new line has a capacity to serve 1.3m riders per year and is subject to increase if needed. The service comes with an affordable fare of Dhs15 in Silver Class and Dhs25 in Gold Class, and the journey is free for people of determination and children below five. Free WiFi connection will be provided for riders. The transit time between Al Ghubaiba and Aquarium stations will be about 35 minutes, and the service frequency is every 30 minutes during morning peak hours (from 5am to 9am) and evening peak hours (from 4pm to 8pm) from Saturday to Sunday.

The service will be held at intervals of one and a half hours during off-peak times. The first journey will depart from Dubai at 5.15am and the last journey will leave at 8pm. From Sharjah, the first journey will be at 5am and the last one will depart at 7.30pm. I am sure that the service will help people who are living in Sharjah and working in Dubai, particularly those facing huge problems to reach their destinations in rush hours because of heavy traffic on motorways.  The marine service will not only help people reach their destinations on time but also its economical fares make commuters’ journey all the more joyful indeed.

I would like to congratulate the RTA administration for their hard work to make people’s lives easy, and I agree with the statement of Mattar Al Tayer, Director-General and Chairman of the Board of Executive Directors of RTA, who said, “The new marine transit line boosts the cooperation between Dubai and Sharjah by offering more mobility options between the two emirates.”

Ashiq Mash
By email