Special Metro passes to be available in December

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.

In focus: The Dubai Metro
All you need to know about the Dubai Metro
In pictures: Dubai Metro moments

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.

"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

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.