Dubai’s Roads & Transport Authority (RTA) is targeting public transport to serve 20 per cent of commuters by 2020, MEED’s Destination Dubai 2020 conference has been told.

Mohammed Abubaker al-Hashimi, director of planning and business development at the RTA, told the event on 28 January that the percentage of the population using Dubai’s public transport had risen from 6 per cent in 2006 to 13 per cent in 2013, with the government body aiming for this to reach 20 per cent by 2020.

As part of the RTA’s plans to expand Dubai’s transport system, the current 75-kilometre rail network will be increased to 421km, which will include a link to the Etihad Rail network.

By 2020, the RTA is planning to increase the existing Red and Green lines on the metro, including a 20.6km extension of the Green Line and a 3.5km extension to the Red Line. The state transport body is also planning an 8-15km extension of the existing Red Line to the planned Dubai Expo site, which will include between two and four stations.