Its economy is tied into oil, so would Dubai dare to ban cars? Yes. Well, for a day. Sort of.
The government has declared today, Jan. 18, as “Car-Free Day” in the emirate. According to this morning’s Emirates 24/7 website, the road could be 3,000 cars lighter today as government employees were to find public transport or other means to get to work, in an effort to draw attention to CO2 emissions and pollution.
To help enforce the initiative, Dubai was closing parking lots.
A similar day last year removed 1,400 cars. This year, Dubai hopes to avoid 10.5 tons of CO2, according to Hussain Nasser Lootah, director general of Dubai Municipality, as quoted in Bikyamasr.
With an extra evening to apply polish, the Rolls should be plenty shiny by the time it hits the highway again tomorrow.
Photo from Rolls-Royce.
More Middle East musings and canned cars:
