Dubai: Every day this year, an average of more than 1.5 million rides are taken on public transport in Dubai.
Out of the 275 million rides in the first half of this year, the largest share, or 100 million, were taken on the Dubai Metro, according to the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA). The Metro’s Red Line was used by 64 million riders, and the Green Line was used by 36 million riders.
Taxis were the second most-used method of public transport, making up 31.7 per cent of all trips.
This was followed by public buses, which made up 28 per cent of journeys.
There were 77 million rides on Dubai buses this year — an average of around 33 trips per resident.
The stats are very similar with the same figures recorded during the same period last year, which stood at 273 million rides.
Meanwhile, the Dubai Tram saw a growth in ridership, with three million rides, compared with 2.5 million riders during the same period last year.
“Public transport means have now become the backbone of people mobility in various parts of Dubai, and the preferred transit option for a huge segment of Dubai residents and visitors,” said Mattar Al Tayer, the RTA’s director-general and chairman.
“The huge and diverse projects undertaken by the RTA have contributed to the sustained increase in public transport ridership that has leapfrogged from 6 per cent in 2006 to 16 per cent in 2016.”
“If we add taxis, the share would shoot to as high as 24 per cent,” Al Tayer added.
By 2030, the RTA is looking to push the share of public transport to 20 per cent of all journeys in the emirate.
“RTA plans are also focused on encouraging journey-sharing practices especially in a city like Dubai where people ownership of private vehicles is as high as one vehicle per two persons,” Al Tayer said.
The RTA’s public transport offering is made up of the Dubai Metro, Dubai Tram, public buses, marine transit modes such as abra, ferry, water taxi, water bus, and taxicabs.
