Dubai’s Public Transport Agency is aiming to cut its expenditure by 20 per cent in 2010 while increasing revenues by seven per cent.

The agency is reviewing a number of initiatives carried out in 2008 and 2009 and this will result in a 20 per cent reduction in operational costs and a seven per cent rise in revenues this year, according to Eisa Abdulrahman al-Dosari, chief executive of the RTA’s Public Transport Agency.

The agency signed AED30m ($8m) worth of contracts in the first quarter of 2010.

“Contracts worth more than AED30m had been signed during the first quarter of 2010 and the organisational chart of the agency has been revised to keep pace with the commercialisation trend, and exploit the investment opportunities capable of boosting revenues,” says al-Dosari.

The Public Transport Agency is part of the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) and is responsible for preparing legislation and development of the emirate’s roads and marine transportation.

In January, the RTA announced plans to spend AED7.9bn on 120 projects in 2010 (MEED 24:1:10).

The total RTA budget for the year is AED10.7bn and of this, 13 per cent was to be allocated to the Public Transport Agency. The RTA did not give a reason for getting Public Transport Agency to cut its budget so drastically.