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The hybrid Abra can seat up to 20 people
30 December 2018
| Last updated on 14 January 2020
If you haven’t taken an abra in Dubai yet, you haven’t experienced the city
Part of Dubai’s identity lies in a traditional boat ride – the abra.
While some of you might think that’s just an odd sound, but an abra is a traditional wooden boat used by many coastline countries in the Middle East as a form of transportation.
And for years, the UAE has been doing so too – to move from place to place, for pearl diving, fishing and now tourism.
For just AED2 a ride, an Abra is quite possibly the cheapest way you can get around the city.
And while they don’t produce as much pollution as your standard boat, Dubai wants to make the abra experience a memorable one at no cost to the environment.
Launching an environment-friendly abra in Dubai – this boat ride will maintain the design and original features of a traditional abra but you’d never know that it’s actually a hybrid.
Operating on a trial bases at the Al Seef area in Dubai’s Deira neighborhoud – the hybrid abra will seat 20 people at a time and link four stations including:
- Al Seef
- Baniyas
- Old Souq
- Al Ghubaiba
What’s new about it?
While the aesthetic is going to remain the same, the hybrid abra is capable of carrying 20 riders and is powered by a 20KW electric motor.
And how’s it a hybrid you may ask?
Apart from the electric motor, it’s lighter in weight, which means that it will not consume lots of energy to transport people via the waterways.
It also has 26 lead crystal batteries and solar energy panels on the abra – and if those weren’t enough, there’s a standby generator to recharge these batteries when low on power.
If you’re already wondering whether batteries and water are a good mix, you needn’t worry…the bara has an automated firefighting system, which will alert the caption if the batteries are overheating.
And as the cherry on top of the abra being a hybrid, it has battery ventilation systems and mobile charging stations on board.
How will it help the environment?
Powered by solar panels and rechargeable batteries, the hybrid abra is low in carbon emissions – so less Co2 into the air.
Including:
- 1. It has an 87% lower carbon emission than regular petrol powered abras in Dubai.
- 2. This ultimately reduces the fuel consumption by 172% to a regular abra.
- 3. It saves 134% on fuel costs.
- 4. The hybrid abra is easier to maintain and fix.
- 5. It has a zero to minimum noise level in comparison to the engine powered traditional abra.
UAE Vision 2021
This hybrid abra is a new pioneering project to hit Dubai’s waterways and is part of the UAE’s Vision 2021, which aims to increase marina-based transportation in Dubai.
This is part of the Roads and Transport Authorities’ (RTA) to increase the current 13 million waterway riders a year in Dubai in efforts of clean transportation.
- Tags:
- Abra
- transportation
- hybrid
