The
transportation in the Arabian Gulf in general and in the UAE especially started
with camels being the only way but it took them sometimes months to reach their
destination. The UAE's Bedouin used camels when they needed to move from place
to place in search of food and water which started around 4,000 years ago as
some of the archaeological sites at Umm al-Nar show.
“The animal is famously known as the ship of the desert because of its walk,
which is much like the motion of a ship at sea. Patience is one of its most
observable features and camels are generally useful animals” (Salem, F. 2010).
The people of the UAE kept depending on camels as their only way of
transportation until around the end of the 1960s when the first bus was
introduced for public use on 1969.
On the
other hand, for people who used to live near the sea and around creek areas in
some emirates like Dubai, Sharjah, and Ras Al Khaimah people used small boats
called abra to move between shores. Even that is not really a long distance
between shores, however; it was neither safe nor comfortable,
especially for families.
With
the declaration of the UAE as a country in 1971, the country witnessed a huge
development that involved every part of the country and people’s life.
Transportation has gone under lots of changes and developments to match and
support the country’s new era.
The UAE
kept on advancing and ensuring that all the modern and latest ways of
transportation are introduced to the people of the country to provide them with
comfortable and safe movement. Abu Dhabi considers being one of the fast
growing airports around the world to many destinations serving around 12
million passengers in 2009. In competition, Dubai airport which has been the
best airport for many years is serving around 50 million passengers through 90
gates.
One of
the modern types of transportation is the metro which has been started in
Dubai. The metro is connecting most of Dubai through two lines, and future
plans are there for more lines to connect the whole city of Dubai and also the
rest of the emirates. Furthermore, for more comfortable ways of transportation,
the pink taxi has been introduced in different emirates like Dubai and Ras Al
Khaimah to provide a service for women as part of the modern transportations
service.
One of
the latest modern developments in the type of transportation in the UAE and
especially in Dubai is the tram, which the first phase will be completed by
2014. It is considered the world’s first tram that does not need electricity and
it runs only using the ground power.
Bibliography
