361m riders use Dubai's public transport in H1 2024 as daily ridership hits 1.98m

Gulf Today, Staff Reporter

Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) announced that the number of users of public transport and shared mobility means in Dubai—including Metro, Tram, public buses, marine transport, Taxis, e-hail vehicles, smart rental vehicles, and on-demand buses—reached about 361.2 million in the first half of 2024.

This represents a 6% increase compared to around 340.5 million users in the first half of 2023. Equally, the daily average number of riders in the first half of this year reached 1.98 million, compared to 1.88 million in the same period in 2023.

His Excellency Mattar Al Tayer, Director General, Chairman of the Board of Executive Directors of the RTA said: “Dubai Metro and taxis accounted for the largest share of public transport riders, with 37% for the metro and 27% for taxis. Public buses accounted for 24.5% of riders. January 2024 saw the highest number with 65 million users, while the remaining months ranged between 53 and 63 million.

“There was a 6% growth in the number of riders during the first half of 2024 compared with the same period in 2023. It is a key indicator of Dubai's economic boom, the effectiveness of RTA’s plans to encourage residents and visitors to use public transport, and the availability of diverse mobility options in the emirate. Dubai’s integrated public transport system, which connects various parts of the emirate, has transformed the culture of public transport usage among multiple segments of residents.”

Metro Stations

Explaining the breakdown of ridership across various mobility means, Al Tayer said, “Dubai Metro's Red and Green Lines transported 133 million passengers in the first half of 2024.

BurJuman and Union stations saw the highest number of passengers, with BurJuman recording 7.8 million users and Union station 6.3 million users.

On the Red Line, Al Rigga station had the highest number of passengers with 6.2 million users, followed by Mall of the Emirates with 5.6 million, and Business Bay with 5.2 million. On the Green Line, Sharaf DG station ranked first with 4.7 million users, followed by Baniyas station with 4.1 million, and Stadium station with 3.3 million users.

“Dubai Tram transported 4.5 million passengers in the first half of the year, public buses transported 89.2 million passengers, and marine transport had 9.7 million users. Shared mobility, including e-hail vehicles, hourly rental vehicles, and on-demand buses, transported 27.8 million passengers. Taxis in Dubai carried 97 million passengers in the first half of this year.”

Integrated Network

Reflecting on the comprehensive plans and achievements, Al Tayer said: “RTA’s strategic and operational plans are based on achieving multi-modal integration of all public transport and shared mobility means to ensure smooth mobility across Dubai. This included developing and expanding road networks and all elements of public transport—metro, tram, buses, marine transport, first and last-mile solutions, and shared mobility—along with an enhanced and integrated pedestrian and cycling infrastructure.

“RTA also focuses on traffic management systems to maximise the efficiency of roads and public transport and implements policies to encourage the public to reduce reliance on private vehicles and increase the use of public and shared transport. These plans aim to continuously enhance the role of public transport in the mobility of people, with the strategic objective of increasing the share of public and shared transport journeys to 25% by 2030, noting that this share clocked 20.9% by the end of 2023,” concluded Al Tayer.