Dubai adds new route for popular 'Bus-On-Demand' service

Dubai: The Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) in Dubai on Tuesday launched a new route for the Bus-on-Demand service in Al Nahda in response to increasing demand from commuters.

The new service will run on weekdays (Monday-Thursday) from 5am to midnight. On Fridays and Saturdays, the service will run from 5am to 1am the following day; and on Sunday, the service will operate from 10am to 1am the next day. The fare is Dh5 per rider, and Dh2 per additional rider.

The service is available through the Dubai Bus-on-Demand app on Apple Store and Google Play Store.

RTA said 10-seater buses are deployed to operate on flexible routes and timings. Drivers of these buses can communicate with the service requesters through the app to identify the nearest points to them.

“These buses will reduce the walking distance and the waiting time of clients, and improve their experience of using premium buses. From an operational perspective, the buses are smaller in size, consume less fuel and have smart a scheduling system that reduces the number of wasted kilometres. As regards the environment, the service cuts carbon emissions and limits the journeys of private vehicles at covered areas,” RTA added.

Flexible routes

Currently, there are 13 minibuses deployed to run the service in certain areas of Dubai, namely Al Barsha, Dubai Silicon Oasis and the Academic City. These buses are convenient and fit the needs of the public as they are accessible and can have flexible routes to suit certain categories. The service strategy is to serve areas with low demand for public transport, and reduce the operational costs, thanks to the fixed service schedules.