Sssshhh! Never say delayed or cancelled

Sssshhh! Never say delayed or cancelled

Calling them ‘re-evaluations’ and ‘extended completions’ does little to aid the RTA’s cause.

October 10, 2010 3:30 by Samuel Potter

It’s a well known fact that the RTA gets a lot of flak. From “The gigantic holes the RTA is digging for the metro are ruining my neighborhood” (underground construction for a metro? surely not) to “I can’t believe they installed a new SALIK point” (as if the road tax concept is unique to Dubai), the RTA is the much maligned target of choice for many of Dubai’s stressed out commuters.

But complaints like these are annoying to Kipp. Yes, there may be aspects of the RTA’s management that leave much to be desired, and granted they have faced severe setbacks during the financial crisis, but in essence over the past twenty years the RTA has been on a progressive trajectory that is nothing short of inspiring. (Seriously. Developing a public transport infrastructure from scratch is no easy feat.)

Although we will confess, we have been known to lose out temper with them too. And just for today, Kipp will be joining the naysayers and criticizers once again, thanks to a recent statement from an RTA official, reported in a typically positive article praising our beloved transport authority.

Not too far under the reassuring headline “RTA says all public transport expansion projects on track”, Gulf News includes this gem of a quote from one RTA official: “I never say they are delayed, rather we are re-evaluating and extending completion time of certain projects.”

Oh great, that’s a relief! There was us thinking they were delayed and cancelled.

Never mind the fact that for the past week or so, local newspapers have been awash with reports of the postponement of the Jumeirah Tram by two years. Also ignore news that the Green Line isn’t going to be open until August of next year, and that it will no longer connect to International City. Plus forget the fact that two of the four entrances to the Khalid Bin Waleed station are yet to open a year after the station was opened to the public… Ignore these things dear reader! You can rest assured that all of these decisions are part of the plan (following re-evaluation or extension).

This caliber of doublespeak is an insult to the intelligence of even a piece of wood. The RTA would do itself a great deal more credit if they simply called a spade a spade: The tram is delayed, the Metro Green Line is delayed, and the International City section is cancelled. Kipp is pretty sure we can all handle the truth.