Over 270m people used public transport in Dubai during H1 2016

Over 270 million people used public transport facilities in Dubai during the first half of the year, the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) has revealed.

A total of 273,452,791 people used the Dubai Metro, Dubai Tram, Dubai Bus, marine transit modes and taxis in H1, up 0.8 per cent compared to the same period last year.

The number of Dubai Metro commuters, using both the Red and Green lines rose by over 9 per cent year-on-year to 96,486,495 riders compared to 88,252,034 riders during the first six months of 2015.

However, Dubai Tram users fell marginally, by about 0.6 per cent, to over 2.5 million in the first half of the year.

Taxis operating in Dubai (Dubai Taxi and franchise company taxis) made over 48.6 million trips during the first half of this year, lifting over 97 million passengers.

Director-general and chairman of RTA Mattar Al Tayer said: “Public buses have served 69,922,328 riders in the first six months of this year. Dubai Bus service has accounted for the largest share of bus ridership recording 44,835,999 riders, followed by metro stations feeder service that was used by 16,434,997 riders, and the intercity bus service, which lifted 5,566,279 riders. Over three million riders used the rented bus service provided to public and private entities.”

Marine transit means, comprising abra, water bus, water taxi and Dubai Ferry, transported over 7.1 million people.

Al Tayer said the increased ridership of public transport showed “sustainable growth” despite the fact that work on public transport systems was yet to be completed in the emirate.

“The results epitomise the strategic drive of RTA to cut the use of private vehicles and augment the use of mass transit means in a bid to make them the favorite mobility choice of people in the emirate,” the RTA added.

The authority is currently working on a strategy to increase the usage of public transport in Dubai to 30 per cent by 2030. It reached 15 per cent in 2015 – up from 6 per cent in 2006, and is projected to reach 16 per cent by the end of this year.