Jaddaf, Festival City water bus at end of the year

Dubai: Water buses will run between Dubai Festival City and Al Jaddaf from the end of this year as the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) looks to expand marine transport along the Creek and other waterfront areas.

The new route will offer connectivity between the popular leisure destination and Al Jaddaf Metro station.

“We have short- and long-terms plans for marine transport and we are considering expansion in Dubai Creek and other waterfront areas so we can increase marine transport coverage and offer greater connectivity to people,” said Adel Shakeri, Director Business Development and Planning at RTA’s Public Transport Agency.

He added that the new route will be in addition to the round trip currently running between Dubai Festival and Ras Al Khor wildlife sanctuary.

Currently, waterbuses run on five routes, three in Dubai Marina and two on Dubai Creek.

Recently, RTA introduced a daily pass on water buses in Dubai Marina to offer greater convenience for regular commuters.

“The purpose of this initiative is to offer convenience and flexibility to commuters. We have seen that people like using day passes for frequent travel and that is why we have including waterbus trips in Dubai Marina part of the daily pass that includes all modes of transport,” added Shakeri.

The daily pass offers unlimited trips across all modes of transport — Metro, bus, tram and waterbus — for just Dh25.

In an attempt to ensure proper payment of fare, RTA has introduced inspectors in marine modes of transport, including waterbuses.

Commuters caught trying to skip fare payment can be fined up to Dh200.

Around 10 million passengers use water transport across the Creek annually, with the abra and water bus being the most popular modes.