Mass transit means in Dubai comprising the metro, tram, buses, marine transport (abra, ferry, water taxi & water bus), and taxis (Dubai Taxi & franchise companies) had lifted 551.7 million riders in 2017, said the director general and chairman of Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority (RTA).


It reflects an increase in the corresponding number recorded in 2016, which amounted to 543.6 million riders in total, added Mattar Al Tayer.  The daily ridership of public transport means in Dubai last year clocked 1.511 million riders.

“The Dubai Metro had taken the largest slice of public transport commuters accounting for 36 per cent, followed by taxis (32 per cent), and public buses (28 per cent). March recorded the highest number of commuters where 49.065 million riders were lifted. The breakdown per mode was as follows: Dubai Metro: 18.003 million riders, taxis: 15.677 million riders, buses: 13.534 million riders, marine transit means: 1.288 million riders, and Dubai Tram: 561,000 riders. December was the second busiest month where ridership clocked 48.857 million riders, and the number of riders was similar in Jan, April, May, October and November at an average of 47million riders per month. In the remaining months of the year, the total number of riders ranged from 40 to 43 million riders,” explained Al Tayer.

Continuous growth

“Last year, the Dubai Metro lifted in both the Red and Green Lines 200.075 million riders compared with 191.3 million riders in 2016. The Red Line of Dubai Metro had seen a healthy growth in 2017 clocking 128.054 million riders compared with 121.6 million riders in 2016. Last year, the Green Line had lifted about 72.021 million riders compared with 69.7 million riders served in 2016. Burjuman and Union Stations, which are the two transfer stations at the intersection of the Red & Green Lines, accounted for the biggest chunk of riders with Burjuman Station recording 12.45 million riders, and the Union Station clocking 10.979 million riders. Al-Rigga Station was the busiest on the Red Line (9.335 million riders) followed by Deira City Center Station (7.709 million riders), ahead of Burj Khalifa Station (7.596 million riders). On the Green Line, Al Fahidi Station ranked first by the number of riders (8.137 million riders), next came Baniyas Station (6.647 million riders), and the third was the Stadium Station (5.757 million riders),” stated Al Tayer.

“The Dubai Tram had lifted last year 6.023 million riders compared with 5.4 million riders in 2016, and the number of public bus riders recorded 155.032 million riders last year compared with 151.1 million riders in 2016. The marine transport means (abras, waterbus, water taxi and Dubai Ferry) were used by 13.076 million riders last year, which is almost the same number of riders recorded in 2016. Taxis in Dubai (comprising Dubai Taxi, Hala Taxi and Franchise companies) lifted about 175 million riders last year,” he added.


“Comprising a full range of integrated services, the public transport network in Dubai has become the backbone of people’s mobility all over the city. RTA’s efforts, in this regard, contributed to the growing numbers of public transport users across the board. The share of public transport in the mobility of people has leapfrogged from 6 per cent in 2006 to 17 per cent in 2017.  RTA is endeavouring to push the share of public transport (metro, tram, buses, and marine transport) to 20 per cent by 2020, and 30 per cent by 2030.

“Equally important, the RTA has managed to transform the culture of various social segments and their attitudes towards using public transport. People have started to grasp the benefits associated with the use of mass transit means such as the physical relief, peace of mind, financial saving, high safety, and lower expenses of car usage in terms of fuel and maintenance among others,” commented Al Tayer. – TradeArabia News Service