Metro laws are fine with us

Metro laws are fine with us

Officials have been issuing more fines on the Dubai Metro lately, though passengers can’t make sense of them. But Kipp doesn’t mind.

June 3, 2010 4:01 by shafeer

“Confused by Metro Law? You will be,” reads a headline in Thursday’s National. The paper says that vague rules are being liberally enforced by officials monitoring the Metro.

It says that the rate of fines issued has risen dramatically over the past three months compared with the previous six. Of 3,663 citations issued since September, 2,248 of them were handed out between March and May, according to the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA).

But apparently, some of the rules and regulations they are so keenly enforcing leave plenty of room for interpretation. There is a AED 200 fine for “failing to comply with the instructions of the RTA’s inspectors or authorised personnel,” for instance. A passenger can also receive a Dh100 penalty for “causing inconvenience, discomfort or distress to other passengers in any way whatsoever.” Plus people have been fined for running, according to the report, which isn’t even listed as against the rules.

Kipp is not going to get too worked up about some over-zealous rule enforcement. We’d rather that than see Dubai’s beautiful and pleasant to use Metro descend to the standards of some other countries. For those who have used the London Underground, and endured the rude passengers, chewing gum riddled seats and graffiti-tagged stations, you’ll surely know what we’re talking about. Or anyone who has ridden the Paris Metro, for that matter, which is so often used as a urinal by men on their way home from town at night.

But we do raise an eyebrow at the rather inconsistent fines in place – AED 200 for bringing a weapon on board, AED 300 for sleeping in a waiting area? That’s just nuts. (Speaking of which, no eating on the Metro either.)