With schools on break and many locals heading overseas, Abu Dhabi’s roads are experiencing a welcome reduction in traffic congestion during school breaks. This seasonal shift highlights how school schedules impact Abu Dhabi traffic management. This seasonal shift highlights how school schedules contribute significantly to urban traffic patterns. To understand how these changes in traffic flow during school vacations differ from regular school days, we consulted with urban planners and transport specialists on Abu Dhabi traffic management. They shared actionable solutions and strategies to maintain smoother traffic conditions beyond the summer months.
Dr. Monica Menendez, Associate Dean of Engineering for Graduate Affairs at New York University Abu Dhabi (NYUAD), explained, “Having traffic fluctuations that follow school patterns is typical everywhere across the world. When school is on, traffic tends to be worse than when school is off and kids are on vacation. This is also true for the weekends, when the traffic patterns change, as most people don’t commute to work.” She added, “In the UAE, the (positive) effect of the school holidays is even more pronounced during summer, since many people leave the country. As a result, congestion goes down significantly, travel times drop, and moving around some typically congested areas of the city becomes a breeze.”
However, Dr. Menendez highlighted the challenge of maintaining these low traffic levels once the school year resumes. “Maintaining these low traffic levels all year round is very hard once people come back into the country and kids start normal school,” she noted. The synchronization of school start times across families, combined with similar work schedules, often leads to peak traffic conditions.
Flexible Working Hours: A Potential Solution
Dr. Menendez proposed exploring flexible working hours and remote work as potential solutions to alleviate congestion. “Encouraging this additional flexibility could alleviate congestion – as it would spread the traffic peaks in a way that the available road capacity is used more efficiently throughout the day,” she emphasized. The Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) in Dubai is already surveying the impact of flexible work schedules on traffic.
Leveraging Big Data for Traffic Management
Another strategy involves utilizing big data for better traffic management. Dr. Menendez, who directs the Research Centre for Interacting Urban Networks, stated, “With all the data that is being generated across a multiplicity of devices, it is now possible to predict traffic much better than before.” Her research shows that urban mobility patterns are consistent, which can help authorities proactively manage traffic and reduce congestion.
Emirati traffic safety researcher Dr. Mostafa Al Dah advocates for the use of artificial intelligence (AI) and predictive tools to address traffic issues. “We can use AI to draw out complete data for example to profile what type of people – their jobs, nationality, age group – who usually go out of the country during summer. Then we compare the data when traffic is high and create a computer model to interpret the data,” he explained.
Dr. Al Dah suggested using data to develop trends and implement innovative solutions. “One solution can be to give incentives to people who will stay off the road at certain times of the day to minimize the number of cars on the roads,” he said. He also proposed enhancing pedestrian infrastructure, promoting active commuting options, and encouraging home-schooling to reduce daily travel.
Additional Strategies for Traffic Management
Urban planner and architect Aileen Llagas provided further recommendations to combat traffic congestion:
- Upgrade Road Infrastructure: Expand and enhance road systems to manage higher traffic volumes efficiently and strategically allocate parking areas.
- Improve Traffic Management: Utilize real-time traffic monitoring and smart traffic signal systems to optimize traffic flow and reduce wait times.
- Implement Congestion Charges: Introduce minimal fees to discourage driving during peak hours, reducing congestion in busy city areas.
- Promote Carpooling and School Buses: Create high-occupancy vehicle lanes to reduce reliance on individual cars.
- Adopt Flexible Schedules: Encourage online classes, remote work, and staggered start times to ease peak-hour traffic.
- Encourage Alternative Transportation: Support the use of public buses, trains, bicycles, and walking as sustainable transportation options.
Llagas concluded, “Innovations and smart technologies are now being used to solve the challenges of traffic congestion. All we need are suitable programs and public awareness campaigns to have a more efficient transportation system even during peak hours when classes resume and people return from vacation.” She personally advocates for proactive planning, stating, “I always check the real-time traffic situation and plan my trip ahead of time by using alternative routes and avoiding highly congested areas. While waiting for all the major changes to happen, let’s not be part of the problem but rather be part of the solution.”
