My Dubai Metro ride

If there was anyone more excited about 9/9/9 than Sheikh Mohammad it was me. From my balcony on Sheikh Zayed Road, I had been excitedly watching the Dubai Metro dream turn into reality for the last four years. From the initial foundations to those huge creep crawly things that laid down the sections of track, I’ve been an enthusiastic bystander to the latest venture in Dubai’s “can-do” attitude. And, as the big day neared, and the trains started their test runs down the highway, I’d been pointing them out like an enthusiastic child, jumping up and down with excitement about the impending arrival of the trains.

And then it happened – I got a Golden Ticket.

Thanks to a stroke of good luck, my girlfriend and I won two coveted Golden Tickets – a pass to ride the inaugural Dubai Metro train with 400 other lucky winners. To be honest, they were neither Golden nor were they Tickets – they were letters of congratulation on RTA letterhead, asking us to email a specified address for further information on what to do.  In the week leading up the big day, we were unable to get anyone to answer the phone or reply to the emails sent to us.  I wasn’t going to take any chances of having my dreams dashed.

The big day – 09/09/09

08:00: “If the RTA will not come to Yousef, then Yousef will come to the RTA.”  I’m not taking any chances, so we headed down to their office to figure out what was what.  It turns out that the phones are ringing and the emails are coming in, but the team was so swamped with other things leading up to the launch that they’d simply stopped answering. A quick chat, and we were confirmed on the list for the ride on the Metro. All we needed to do now was turn up at Nakheel Harbour Station at 20:30.

09:30: While Dubai Metro was preparing for its big day, we were also gearing up for the day at Flip Media by putting the finishing touches on www.mydubaimetro.com, a nonprofit website. Three weeks earlier, as the RTA began to reveal its own website for Dubai Metro, we realized that there was an opportunity being wasted. After 18 billion dollars and 4 years, the biggest story in Dubai was about to launch without a suitable website.

There was a hole, and we were going to fill it. Teams were scrambled and we set to work on the development of a community resource “by the people and for the people” that would provide a usable, practical guide to the Metro. And soon, we would be ready to launch.

12:30: In the meantime, the Twitterverse was abuzz with talk of Dubai Metro. Despite Sheikh Mohammad’s attempt to get everyone to use the hashtag #mymetroexp, most Tweeters used the more logical #dubaimetro. And, with all the buzz and RT’s and chat, #dubaimetro became the number 1 trending topic on Twitter worldwide! Although it was only for a short while, it demonstrated the power of social media and how our little city of 1 million people became the hottest subject on the hottest social network. To me, the most interesting thing about this phenomenon was how this was purely a grass-roots movement, by the people, and actually happened with no input from any brand or corporate sponsor (or the Ruler’s decreed hash tag). This was a great example to the public of how social media is dictated by the people, not by any corporation or our rulers.

15:00: In the midst of this Twitter-mania, our @dxbmetro account also was gathering steam. By following regional users who Tweeted about Dubai Metro, we were able to build a steady following of 150 users with the promise of our livetweets from the inaugural train. Another lesson in social media: give people a reason to follow you. By offering users access to something special and unique, we were able to give them a reason to become part of our world.

17:00: It’s up and it’s live! Go go go! www.mydubaimetro.com goes live, and is suddenly attracting traffic and interest from hundreds of users.  We’ve done it – and three weeks of hard work and late nights are starting to pay off.

18:00: My traveling companion Meredith and I head to Mall of The Emirates, and have shirts made up for the train ride. Mine proudly displays the handle @dxbmetro on the front, and a link to My Dubai Metro on the back. Meredith’s says “Scream if you wanna go faster!” – a reference to her belief that the ups and downs on the track will make it feel like a rollercoaster.

20:15: We arrive at Nakheel Harbour Station, and after a short wait, we’re ushered into a room to collect our goodie bags – a t-shirt, a personalized certificate, a pen and photograph taken and then framed with the message “I rode the Dubai Metro on 09/09/09.” Very cute, and most appreciated.

20:40: And then, it was off to the train! We made our way to the front carriage of the train, where we would have the best view of the ride.  Of course, every journalist had the same good idea, and we suddenly found ourselves surrounded by photographers, reporters and cameramen – all jostling for photos and interviews with the passengers.
Meredith and I were both interviewed by a number of TV stations and newspapers, including a bemused reporter from Arabian Business who thought our matching outfits were hilarious!

21:45: We are rolling! The train takes its first tentative steps out of Nakheel Harbour station, and then abruptly stops. The train is shifted from autopilot to manual (and back) until we are finally rolling. As we cruise down Sheikh Zayed Road, we can see cars stopped on the side of the road to watch the train go by.

22:05: We arrive at Mall of the Emirates station to a very special welcome as fireworks go off above the train. Wehey!

22:18: We’ve arrived at Financial Centre station, which incidentally is right next to my house. After being ushered off the train and into the station, we’re given 15 minutes to check out the interior of the station. It looks great!

22:41: We’re back on the train, and speeding back up the highway to Nakheel Harbour station. Along the way, we’ve met up with some of our Twitter friends, and we’ve all gathered for the ride up together.
One of my friends, PK Gulati, is a long-term resident of Dubai, and we shared stories about Dubai’s previous successes – how Burj Al Arab was considered a foolish dream when it was being built, and has now emerged as one of our city’s most visible landmarks.

23:08: End of the line – we’ve arrived back at our station, and it’s time to head home. After a quick picture with our friends, we’re heading home.
As we head out of the station, we talk about how this is the first piece of good news that Dubai has seen since the market crash one year ago. Up until then, it was seen as an inspiration for its “can-do” attitude and its habit of turning dreams into reality.

When the bubble burst and those extravagant dreams (building islands in the sea, building the world’s largest theme park) came crashing down, Dubai’s vision was suddenly mocked as a fool’s paradise. Journalists who couldn’t sing Dubai’s praises loudly enough suddenly dug up every bad-news story in the city to highlight how the worm had turned. In fairness, many people lost sight along the way of what a beautiful and visionary city this is.

Riding home from the Metro, I quietly tip my hat to Sheikh Mohammed and the people of Dubai, and celebrate a little victory for our city. We’ve still got that winning spirit.