Saturday, Jul 30, 2016

Dubai: The share of Dubai’s mass transit systems as a means of mobility is on track to hit 16 per cent this year as the ridership of metro and buses continues to soar, the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) announced on Saturday.

RTA aims to make public transport the preferred mobility choice of Dubai residents through continuous expansion of the mass transit network.

The share of public transport as the means of mobility in the city soared to 15 per cent last year, up from six per cent in 2006. The share is well on track to reach 16 per cent this year.

By 2030, RTA expects 30 per cent of Dubai residents to use public transport for their daily travel.

In the first half of this year, 273,452,791 people used public transport, up from 271,302,000 riders registered during the same period last year.

The number includes all modes of transport, including Dubai Metro, Dubai Tram, Dubai bus, marine transit modes and taxis, said Mattar Al Tayer, director-general and chairman of the Board of Executive Directors of RTA.

“The number of Dubai Metro commuters, using both the Red and Green lines, has increased considerably during the first six months of 2016 to reach 96,486,495 riders compared with 88,252,034 riders during the same period last year,” he revealed

The Red Line recorded a ridership of 61,204,743 from January to June this year, compared with 55,783,626 riders reported during the same period last year.

The ridership of the Green Line has also jumped from 32,468,408 riders in the first six months of 2015 to 35,281,752 in the first six months of this year. However, the ridership of Dubai Tram has dropped slightly, with 2,535,429 riders using Dubai Tram in the first half of 2016 compared with 2,552,756 riders last year.

Public buses have served 69,922,328 riders in the first six months of this year.

Urban bus services have accounted for the largest share of bus ridership, recording 44,835,999 riders, followed by metro feeder services that were used by 16,434,997 riders, and the intercity bus service, which lifted 5,566,279 riders.

A total of 3,085,000 riders used the rented bus service provided to public and private entities.

The marine transit means, comprising abra, water bus, water taxi and Dubai Ferry, carried 7,140,858 riders during the first half of this year.

A total of 6,714,884 riders used abras, the waterbus served 324,921 riders, Dubai Ferry carried 74,330 riders, and the water taxi served 26,723 riders.

Taxis operating in Dubai made 48,683,977 trips during the first half of this year, lifting 97,367,954 passengers, said Al Tayer.

Staff Report

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