In less than three months, the International Association of Public Transport (UITP) will hold its 59th World Congress and Exhibition in Dubai, hosted by Dubai Roads and Transport Authority (RTA). With its integrated multimodal public transport system, Dubai is the ideal host city for the UITP Congress: the Emirate is in pole position to achieve UITP’s PTx2 ambition, with its public transport market share expected to increase from 11% today to 34% in 2020.

Initially conceived as a ‘car city’, Dubai is now recognised for its forward-looking and integrated mobility policy. The Dubai Metro project includes the operational Red Line (52 km and 26 stations), with a daily ridership that currently exceeds 140,000 passengers. With the addition of the Green Line, already under construction (23 km and 21 stations), Dubai will boast the longest fully automated metro network in the world, and further lines are planned. A light rail line of 268 km under construction should complement the rail network by 2013. Covering all modes of transport in the Emirate, RTA also manages an extensive network of public buses as well as marine transport.

Thanks to its pioneering attitude and its key geographical position, Dubai acts as a catalyst for public transport developments in the whole MENA region, an area which has impressively succeeded in introducing and expanding public transport systems in recent years. The choice of Dubai as host city for the UITP Congress will undoubtedly encourage the region to continue along the same lines.

“The achievements made by RTA over the past five years stand out as a milestone in the public transport sector, not only in the MENA region, but also across the globe. Dubai Emirate is taking the lead in diffusing the culture of mass transit systems and is ranking ahead of many advanced countries in this field and in a record time,” stated Hans Rat, UITP Secretary General.

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Notes to Editors

UITP (International Association of Public Transport) is the international network for public transport authorities and operators, policy decision-makers, scientific institutes and the public transport supply and service industry. It is a platform for worldwide cooperation, business development and the sharing of know-how between its 3,400 members from 92 countries. UITP is the global advocate for public transport and sustainable mobility, and the promoter of innovations in the sector. For more information, please visit www.uitp.org.

For more information about the 59th UITP World Congress and Mobility & City Transport Exhibition, please visit www.uitpdubai2011.org.

For more information about Roads and Transport Authority of Dubai (RTA), please visit www.rta.ae.

UITP Press contact: Sarah D’Angelo | UITP Press Junior Manager

Direct phone: +32 (0)2 6636639 | Fax: +32 (0)2 6601072 | sarah.dangelo@uitp.org