In Focus | Dubai Metro

Special Metro passes to be available in December

Special passes to be introduced will include special discounted cards for students, senior citizens and persons with special needs

  • By Ashfaq Ahmed, Chief Reporter
  • Published: 00:00 September 23, 2010
  • Gulf News

  • Image Credit: Supplied picture
  • According to an earlier announcement, the daily pass will cost Dh14 for unlimited trips on the Metro and public buses all over the city. The monthly passes will range from Dh100 to Dh270.
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Dubai: Members of the public who rely on public transport will be able to buy special daily and monthly passes from December, Gulf News has learnt.

The long-awaited travel passes were to be introduced earlier this year but were delayed due to the Metro system's gradual opening.

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Mohammad Yousuf Al Mudharreb, director of Unified Automated Fare Collection Department at the Dubai Roads and Transport Authority (RTA), said: "We will introduce the special travel passes in December."

The special passes will also be Nol Cards but they will be in their own special category for daily and monthly passes.

The Nol card is a unified fare collection card which is used by passengers to travel across all modes of public transport, including the Dubai Metro, public buses and water transportation.

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"Also, there will be special discounted cards for students, senior citizens and persons with special needs," he told Gulf News.

Al Mudharreb said the special discounted passes will be introduced as part of the second phase of the Nol Card fare system which offers passengers various fare options.

According to an earlier announcement, the daily pass will cost Dh14 for unlimited trips on the Metro and public buses all over the city. The monthly passes will range from Dh100 to Dh270.

A monthly pass for students will cost Dh170 for unlimited trips while a pass for senior citizens (aged 60 and above) for a month will cost Dh200.

Al Mudharreb said the RTA had so far sold 2.7 million Nol cards since the Dubai Metro was launched on September 9, 2009.

Sharp increase

The RTA expects a sharp increase in the number of passengers with the opening of the five new Metro stations by mid-October.

Earlier, speaking at the press conference, Abdul Mohsin Ebrahim Younes, CEO of RTA's Strategy and Corporate Governance Sector, launched the ‘Public Transport Day' campaign, which has its own ‘Be Free' slogan. Passengers holding Nol travel cards will be able to use public transport free of cost on November 1.

"The day will be observed every year as part of the RTA's initiative to encourage more people to use public transport," he added.

"Key objectives of this initiative revolve around the concept of enhancing the role of Dubai to improve [the] environment by promoting the use of mass transit modes," Younes said.

Eisa Al Dossary, chief executive of the Public Transport Agency at the RTA, said the number of public transport users had increased from 6 per cent, in 2007, to 12 per cent in Dubai since the launch of the comprehensive public transport system.

Map: New metro stations to open in Mid-October

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Have your say
Do you use public transportation? Will these special passes change how often you use it?  Tell us at readers@gulfnews.com or click on the "Post a comment" link below to comment.

Comments (8)

  1. Added 17:03 September 23, 2010

    Metro has atlast brought me peace while on wheels....uffffff the never ending TRAFFIC JAM !!! a great escape indeed...one request ...could there be signs on metro "To speak softly while using mobile" people tend to forget that they are travelling with several people around....ohhhhhh thats a mess....market like situation on board. Pls Pls Pls do something about it.

    Thangam, Dubai, United Arab Emirates

  2. Added 14:37 September 23, 2010

    Why don't the RTA allow everyone to purchase the monthly passes? why only the seniors and students? what is the percentage of seniors and students in Dubai?? it's less than 20%. In my opinion, when the RTA starts treating it as a public service, only then the it will be successful. if they are talking about encouraging people to use the metro more often, they should start acting more seriously in this direction.

    Hani, Dubai, Syrian Arab Republic

  3. Added 12:46 September 23, 2010

    Dear Debapriya, its a good suggestion for having special discounted rates for the 3 or 6 months pass... but i 100% dont agree with your suggestion of non stop trains by skipping few stations.... thinking of it... all trains move on the same track... by skipping few stations... u will be having trains tailgating each other... which will eventually stop you at every station again :D.... Enjoy the METRO!!! ;)

    Anonymous, Dubai, United Arab Emirates

  4. Added 12:17 September 23, 2010

    Thank you very much RTA this is very good offer to all of us as a user of the public transport here in Dubai. Mabrouk!!!!

    Gina Gelvero, Dubai, United Arab Emirates

  5. Added 11:01 September 23, 2010

    Everything is fine. I just wish we have discounted prices for monthly or 3monthly or 6 monthly passes for daily commuters. Make some non-stop trains for long distances, which will skip few stations and reach early. Frequency of trains should be increased.

    Debapriya, Dubai, United Arab Emirates

  6. Added 09:27 September 23, 2010

    Assalamovalyku, it will be great savings if a Pass service is introduced,i was using earlies RTA bus to travel to site from Diera to Al barsh. But after Nol card introduced i have to pay triple th amount what i was paying last year so stopped using RTA service and now i am travelling in Company vehicle which takes 220dhs per month which is similar to as Metro charge. Now i feel there will be some flexible plans for us. Thanks to RTA & UAE

    Anonymous, Dubai, United Arab Emirates

  7. Added 08:53 September 23, 2010

    Dubai Metro Rocks!!!!

    Anonymous, Dubai, United Arab Emirates

  8. Added 04:11 September 23, 2010

    This is a good sensible incentive by the RTA. However, can they DEFINE the Senior Citizen? Is a Citizen a Senior if he/she is over 60 and of any Nationality or of any particular Nationality?

    CSS, Dubai, United Kingdom

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