Dubai Metro, comprising the Red and Green Lines, has made new records as the ridership of the metro has broken the one billion rider barrier, said the director-general and chairman of the Roads & Transport Authority (RTA).

Since the launch of the service (on September 9, 2009) till the end of August 2017, the metro has lifted 1.028 billion riders (689 million riders lifted by the Red Line and 339 million riders served by the Green Line), explained Mattar Al Tayer.

“The Dubai Metro, which extends 75 km, has an array of features that give it a unique standing worldwide. It is the longest driverless metro line across the world. Its Union Station is considered the world’s biggest underground metro station spanning an area of 25,000 sq m. Burjuman Station is widely known as one of the gorgeous metro stations in the world,” said Al Tayer.

“The RTA is moving ahead with its ambitious plan to revamp mass transit systems and raise the share of public transport in the people’s mobility to as much as 30 per cent by 2030. This rate reached 16 per cent in 2016, and it will rise to 24 per cent if we add taxis. Moreover, there is a remarkable evolution in the culture of the community and its perception of public transport means. The Metro has started to bring back several benefits to the community such as the psychological & physical relief associated with the smooth mobility, and the reduced expenditure on car fuel and maintenance,” noted Al Tayer.

The Red Line of the Dubai Metro has lifted more than 689 million riders since opened on September 9. 2009 and has seen a sustained growth in ridership. The number of metro riders has soared by 54 per cent from 38.887 million riders in 2010 to 60 million riders in 2011.

The number shot to 104 million riders in 2014, and grew further to 121 million riders in 121 million riders in 2016. The Union Station accounted for the largest number of Red Line users recording 47.798 million riders, followed by Deira City Center Station (46.878 million riders), just ahead of Burjuman Station (46.749 million riders), then came Al Rigga Station which served about 44 million riders.

Since opened on 9/9/2011, the Green Line has served about 339 million riders. The number picked up from 37.576 million riders in 2012 to 48.872 million riders in 2013 recording a 30per cent growth rate. It continued the upward trend to reach 65.942 million riders in 2015 and further grew to 69.708 million riders in 2016.

Al Faheedi Station ranked first as far as ridership is concerned as it had been used by 37.928 million riders, followed by Baniyas Station (33.547 million riders), Al Ghubaiba Station (26 million riders) and Oud Metha Station (24 million riders). – TradeArabia News Service