Problem Identification
As it appears, the policy problem is that it cannot cover everybody’s needs and requirements, so it will be difficult to reach social satisfaction because of the increased use of public transport. Thus, a social security failure, a limitation of movement, and a hot weather limitation will be observed.
The role of the government is essential, as it should implement the policy smoothly and benefit people. If the government does not intervene, people will not use public transport and they will depend on their own vehicles, which opposes government’s vision. Moreover, it will make public transportation lose its income because the number of users will be reduced.
Main objectives of this policy are to reduce pollution, encourage people to depend on public transportation, make Dubai a pedestrian-friendly city, change people’s culture, encouraging them to walk to bus/metro stations.
Continuation of the Paper
The government wants to increase the use of public transport in Dubai. However, this change may be unsuccessful because of the hot weather that is often observed in the city. Social security failure, limitation of movement, and hot weather limitation will be discussed in more detail further in the paper.
Social Security Failure
More Load on Police Checkpoints
Dubai is willing to protect its citizens that is why much attention is paid to the identification of criminals and detection of harmful equipment or forbidden items. To make it easier for the police to cope with their duties and ensure people’s security, the government urge the necessity to use checkpoints. In addition to that, they provide an opportunity to identify impaired driving, which is critical for the country because the number of associated death rates increased dramatically. In 2013, for instance, there were “635 accidents in which 38 people died and 589 were injured, and 1,087 vehicles were damaged” (SellAnyCar.com Team, 2014, para. 7). In this way, the introduction of checkpoints is a great possibility to avoid pursuits is obtained, and streets become safe.
Police checkpoints presuppose the necessity to stop a vehicle in case of suspicion of some illegal actions. Drivers are expected to provide their documents, and additional investigation of their belongings or the very car may be required. In case of public transport, police officers may need to search the whole vehicle and check all passengers, which turns out to be rather time-consuming. As a result, the number of officers at a checkpoint should be increased, or existing professionals should work more productively to prevent the development of horrendous traffic. Unfortunately, it may lead to the increased expenditures for the police department or issues faced by the officers, such as burnout and overload. As a consequence, the representatives of the general public will be dissatisfied with both the public transport and police services because the procedure on checkpoints will be time-consuming. For instance, in Thailand, three types of checkpoints are used to streamline these operations: “general police checkpoints, selective breath testing, and special event sobriety check-points” (Ditsuwan, Veerman, Bertram, & Vos, 2015, p. NP2177). In this way, the number of police officers at a checkpoint depends on its type, and specific equipment is provided. Such alterations are likely to benefit Dubai because even initial attempts to improve road safety led to the reduction of run-over accidents from 379 cases in 2016 (January – April) to 114 at the same period of time the next year (Ramahi, 2017).
Easy Target for Terrorist Attacks
Terrorism is a critical issue that is faced by many developed countries, and it is a real threat to Dubai. Due to the Western interests, the city faces a high risk of attack even though it does not have a history of terrorism. In 2016, for instance, it dealt with more than 35 cases of terrorism, which proved this year to be the most active (United States Department of State, 2017). In this way, the government and the representatives of the general public should do their best to ensure that this problem will not affect the well-being of the population.
It is significant to understand that terrorists often have large targets because they are willing to attract as much attention as possible. They are focused on those places and events that gather the citizens so that a minimal source of danger can lead to the greatest harm and destruction. In this way, terrorists are likely to attack overcrowded public transport, offices, and entertainment facilities. The cases of the USA, Great Britain, and Canada prove this fact, as they report numerous fatal outcomes (Kinney, 2016). Trying to hide from the hot weather of Dubai, people face the necessity to go to public places, which increases their vulnerability significantly and makes them an easy target for terrorists. Nevertheless, their safety can be improved with the help of the increased television surveillance and improved work of transit employees, police, military, and security officials. In addition to that, passenger education is significant (Kinney, 2016).
Limitation of Movement
More Pressure on a Person to Take a Taxi to Bus/Metro Stations
When it is hot outside, people tend to look for those means of transport that include air conditioners. In Dubai, buses and metro trains are developed so that they use this advanced technology and provide the general public with an opportunity to benefit from it. Moreover, people have an opportunity to experience positive effects of air-conditioned bus stops and metro stations. What is more significant, these vehicles are rather affordable so they can be used by ordinary workers who do not have a high income. As a result, many individuals reveal their desire to use public transport. However, bus and metro stations are not always close to people’s residence or workplace, which means that they have to walk for a while suffering from the extreme heat. As a result, weather conditions make citizens increase their expenditures. Those individuals, who are limited in their finances, take a taxi to these stations so that they can change their transport and use a bus or a train further. A taxi allows its passengers to avoid traveling on foot under the scalding sun and to benefit from the air conditioner. Therefore, it is not surprising that taxis are used by 33% of the population while metro and buses are used by 35% and 28% accordingly (“543 million passengers,” 2017).
One Accident Can Affect a Large Group of People
The increased use of public transport that is caused by the hot weather in Dubai increases the vulnerability of a large group of people. For instance, when a car accident happens, it usually involves only several individuals. One or two drivers and their passengers may be injured or dead depending on the severity of the accident. Nevertheless, the number of involved individuals is less than 10 in the majority of cases. However, public transport provides dozens of people with an opportunity to travel at the same time, which presupposes that all of them may be affected adversely. In this way, buses and trains put many citizens under a threat of injuring. For example, “of the 371 European [terrorist] attacks, 232 were on passenger trains and subways, 126 against buses, and three on passenger ferries or their terminals” (Kinney, 2016, para. 7). As a result of these attacks, almost 500 casualties and more than 4000 injuries were observed. Such statistics prove that the use of public transport increases people’s vulnerability. Even though this type of transit has numerous benefits for the country and its population, it is vital to consider the threats that it entails and to develop measures that can be used to deal with them.
Hot Weather Limitation
Difficulties of Walking to Stations During Ramadan Mornings
The majority of Dubai population is Muslims who follow those practices that are presupposed by their religion. As people are fasting, they are limited in water and food that can consume during the day. However, citizens are still obliged to fulfill their everyday duties, such as going to school or work. During hot mornings, individuals may find it difficult to get to bus or metro stations without drinking. According to Dubai Municipality (2016), heat-related illness is a critical problem that affects the population when the temperature reaches almost 50 degrees Celsius. In the majority of cases, those individuals who work outside or have to spend much time in order to reach their workplace are affected. A long walk can lead to dehydration and cause the development of serious health problems but not just a desire to quench their thirst. Moreover, the absence of water and food in hot weather is likely to contribute to people’s weakness and loss of concentration, which will definitely affect their productivity. As a result, citizens will not be able to cope with their duties, which can have a negative influence on the whole country. In this way, if Dubai is willing to make its population use public transport more often, it should also pay attention to the development of transit network.
The Necessity to Use Other Means of Transport in Summer
In summer, the weather in Dubai is associated with extreme heat. In order to avoid its effects, the representatives of the general public do everything possible to stay in those places that are equipped with air conditioners. As the use of public transport presupposes the necessity to have a long walk under the sun, citizens are likely to give preference to individual vehicles or taxies. As a result, buses and trains are likely to be neglected during the whole season, which can have a negative influence on the economy. Moreover, people will increase their expenditures, which can prevent them from having enough money to satisfy other needs, such as those associated with healthcare services. As a result, the well-being of the population may suffer. However, the government of Singapore found out that the development of the bus and train network, as well as the use of the mass rapid transit is likely to improve this situation. This change increased the use of public transport almost by 10% in a decade and reduced the use of private cars from about 25% in 2010 to 22% in 2015 (“More Singaporeans,” 2016). Thus, Dubai can benefit from the use of the same strategy.
Conclusion
Thus, it can be claimed that the hot weather in Dubai affects the use of public transport significantly and influences social satisfaction adversely, which means that the government should pay more attention to this issue before implementing the policy. In particular, social security suffers because of the increased difficulty of those procedures that are to be performed at the police checkpoints, and the risk of terrorist attacks becomes higher. Because of extreme heat, people use taxies to get to bus and metro stations, which is resource consuming. However, traveling by bus or train, large groups of people may be injured in case of an accident. Hot weather prevents people from traveling on foot and reaching stations on their own. As a result, they tend to use alternative means of transport instead of public ones. Thus, governmental bodies should consider the ways to overcome these problems to ensure successful implementation of the policy.
References
Ditsuwan, V., Veerman, J. L., Bertram, M., & Vos, T. (2015). Sobriety checkpoints in Thailand: A review of effectiveness and developments over time. Asia-Pacific Journal of Public Health, 27(2), NP2177-NP2187.
Dubai Municipality. (2016). Safe & healthy summer. Web.
543 million passengers used public transit means in Dubai in 2016. (2017). Web.
Kinney, J. (2016). How safe is the world’s public transportation? Web.
More Singaporeans take bus, MRT to work: Government survey. (2016). Web.
Ramahi, N. (2017). Number of pedestrian deaths on Dubai’s roads drops to 13 in four months. Web.
SellAnyCar.com Team. (2014). Alcohol-related deaths increase by 175% in Dubai. Web.
United States Department of State. (2017). Country reports on terrorism 2016 – United Arab Emirates. Web.