The UAE’s first-ever car occupancy survey conducted by Noor Takaful with RoadSafetyUAE has studied the circumstances determining the number of vehicles on roads. The study aimed to find out who prefers driving vs. being a passenger, and how often, as well as why trips happen and whether drivers and passengers travel alone or with others. The data derived offers a solid base for the stakeholders involved to discuss meaningful initiatives that can reduce the number of vehicles on roads.
The survey commissioned by Rawdha Al Sakit, head of marketing at Noor Takaful was conducted by a global, online research company in March 2020 with a UAE representative sample of 1,005 respondents.
Drivers vs passengers and break-up of transportation modes
During work weeks, 54% drive themselves, 29% are passengers (20% in private cars and 9% in taxis, limos, vans/minibuses), 13% use public transportation (metro, bus), and 4% use alternative means (walking, bicycle, scooter).
83% overall dependency on cars (54% drive themselves + 20% passengers in private cars + 9% taxis, limos, vans/minibuses) is very high on global level, so is the use of private cars with 74% (54% drive themselves + 20% passengers in private cars). The 22% aggregated use of public transportation (13% bus, metro + 9% taxis, limos, vans/minibuses) is low on global level, as is the use of alternative means of transportation with 4%.
Why people take to the roads
Of the 54% driving themselves,
• 67% commute to and from work,
• 60% drive for personal or household chores like grocery shopping,
• 50% use their cars for business purpose like meetings, appointments and business errands
• 50% for entertainment (restaurants, the cinema, shopping malls, sport activities, playdates
• 29% for school runs.
Of the 29% who are passengers in private cars, taxis, limos, vans/minibuses,
• 47% commute to work,
• 38% travel for personal or household chores like grocery shopping,
• 33% hire transport for entertainment including to restaurants, the cinema, shopping malls, sport activities, playdates,
• 22% do it for business purposes like meetings, appointments, business errands
• 10% use them for school runs.
Number of trips per day
Of the 54% driving themselves,
• 7% use their car just 1x per day,
• 35% use their car 2x per day (to and from work),
• 23% use their car 3x per day, and
• 35% use their car 4x and more per day.
Of the 29% who are passengers in private cars, taxis, limos, vans/minibuses,
• 20% conduct 1x trip per day
• 46% are in 2x trips per day (to and from work),
• 16% do 3x trips per day, and
• 19% are passengers in more than 4x trips per day.
The number of trips being conducted alone or in company, and the number of passengers
Of the 54% driving themselves,
• 38% are always driving alone (100% of trips),
• 31% are driving alone in 80-90% of their trips,
• 22% are driving alone in 50-70% of their trips, and
• 9% spend 0-40% of their trips alone.
Of the 62% drivers who have others in their cars with them,
• 48% have 1 passenger,
• 30% have 2 passengers,
• 13% have 3 passengers, and
• 8% have 4 or more passenger.
The number of trips being conducted with only one passenger or with co-passengers, and the number of co-passengers
Of those 29% who are passengers in private cars, taxis, limos, vans/minibuses,
• 21% are always alone with their driver (100% of trips),
• 21% are sole passengers in 80-90% of their trips,
• 26% are the only passenger in 50-70% of their trips, and
• 33% do 0-40% of their trips as the only passenger.
Of those 79% who are travelling as passengers and who have other passengers with them,
• 31% have 1 more passenger with them,
• 29% have 2 more passengers with them,
• 16% have 3 more passengers with them, and
• 23% have 4 or more passengers with them
The findings of the study can help identify focus areas and objectives to reduce the number of trips (e.g. working from home vs. working from office); how to combine essential trips; how to increase the number of occupants per vehicle; how to help move more individual traffic to public transportation; the role of technology (e.g. carpooling apps, etc.). This study paves the way for further research projects (e.g. on trip starting times and durations) and highlights the role of awareness drives, education and incentives and regulatory initiatives.
Thomas Edelmann, founder and managing director of RoadSafetyUAE, said: “Subjectively, we might have the impression that the majority of vehicles around us are only occupied by one person and rarely by more. This study creates new and meaningful datapoints by elevating the road safety discussion, shifting from anecdotal evidence to fact-based findings. Along with our CSR partner Noor Takaful, we wanted to better understand the transportation patterns of UAE road users which define the situation on our roads during peak traffic periods, which typically happen on working days, as opposed to weekends.”
