Dubai announces free parking on January 1, 2020

Public parking will be free in Dubai on Wednesday, January 1, 2020, the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) has announced.

All public paid parking zones will be free of charge to mark the New Year, and fees will be reinstated on Thursday, January 2.

However, multi-level parking terminals will continue to charge fees on January 1, the RTA clarified.

The authority also confirmed that all the service provider centres (vehicle testing) and the RTA’s customers’ happiness centres will be closed for the holiday.

The UAE has declared that the New Year will be observed by both public and private sectors with a one-day holiday.

Metro timings

Metro stations on the red line will operate from 5am on Tuesday, December 31, until 12am (midnight) on Wednesday, January 1, while stations on the green line will operate from 5.30am to 12am (midnight).

Tram

Dubai Tram will be in service from 6am on Tuesday to 1am on Thursday, January 2, 2020.

Bus timings

During the holiday, the main bus stations, such as Gold Souq, will operate from 4.25am on Wednesday to 12.59 am (past midnight), while Al Ghubaiba station will be in service from 4.14am to 12.58am (past midnight).

Sub-stations, such as Satwa, will operate from 4.45am to 11.03pm except for Route C01, which will run around-the-clock.

Al Qusais station will run bus services from 4.31am to 12.08am (past midnight), Al Quoz Industrial station will be in operation from 5.05am to 11.35pm and Jebel Ali station will operate from 4.58am and until 11.30pm.

Metro feeder bus stations at Al Rashidiya, Mall of the Emirates, Ibn Battuta, Dubai Mall/Burj Khalifa, Abu Hail, and Etisalat will be operational from 5am to 1.10am (of the following day). The timing of the feeder bus service will be synchronised with the timing of the metro timetables.

Intercity bus service and commercial buses will run round-the-clock from Al Ghubaiba to Al Jubail Station, Sharjah, and from 4.36 am to 12.01 am (past midnight) to Abu Dhabi.

At subsidiary stations, such as the Union Square Bus station, the bus service will operate on the holiday from 4.25 am and continue up to 1.25 am (of the following day). At Sabkha station, the bus service will be from 6.15 am to 1.30 am (of the following day), at Deira City Centre station from 5.35am to 11.30pm, at Karama station from 6.29am to 10.59pm, and at Al Ahli stadium from 5.55am to 10.15 pm.

External stations, such as Sharjah’s Al Taawon, will operate from 5.30am until 10pm, Fujairah station will operate from 5.23am until 9.39pm, Ajman station will stay open from 4.30am until 11pm and Hatta station will be in operation from 5.30am until 9.30pm.

Marine transport timings

The RTA also announced revised timings for marine transit services.

On Tuesday, December 31, the water bus will operate at Marina stations (Marina Mall, Marina Walk, Marina Terrace, Marina Promenade) from 10am up to 8pm.

Abra (DC2) will operate from 8am to 2pm. The service from Jaddaf station to Dubai Water Canal station will run at 12.15 pm, and from Dubai Water Canal station to Jaddaf station at 2.10 pm.

On Wednesday, January 1, the water bus at Marina stations (Marina Mall, Marina Walk, Marina Terrace, Marina Promenade) will operate from 12pm (noon) to 12am (midnight).

Abra (DC2) will operate from 8am to 9.30pm. The service from Jaddaf station to Dubai Water Canal station will run from 12.15pm to 5.45pm, and from Dubai Water Canal station to Jaddaf station from 2.10 pm to 7.40pm.

Meanwhile, on Tuesday, the Dubai ferry will call at Ghubaiba stations at 11am and 1pm and at Marina station, the service will run at 11am, 1pm, 3pm and 5pm.

From Ghubaiba station to Sharjah Aquarium station, the service timing will be from 7am to 5pm.

On Wednesday, Dubai Ferry will operate at Ghubaiba and Marina stations at 1pm, 3pm, 5pm and 6.30pm. From Ghubaiba to Sharjah Aquarium station, the service will be from 2pm to 10.30pm. At Sheikh Zayed Road station, the ferry will be in service from 4pm to 10pm.

Traditional abra services will also run from 7am to 8pm on Tuesday while air-conditioned abras will operate from 1am to 2am (on Wednesday). The electric abra will be in service on Tuesday at Global Village from 4pm to 12am (midnight).

On Wednesday, the traditional abra services will run at Dubai Creek stations from 10am to 12am (midnight) and at Sheikh Zayed Road station from 4pm to 10pm.

Air-conditioned abras will commute between Jaddaf and Dubai Festival City stations from 10am to 12am (midnight).

The electric abra will be in service at Burj Khalifa from 6pm to 11pm, at Al Qasr Hotel station to Dubai Mall station from 11.30am to 11pm, and at the Global Village, Baniyas and Dubai Festival City stations from 4pm to 12am (midnight).