594 million people used Dubai's public transport in 2019

A total of 594 million riders used public transport and other shared mobility means around Dubai in 2019 - reflecting a jump from a ridership of 589 million in 2018, the emirate's Road and Transport Authority (RTA) has announced.

These modes of transport comprise the metro, tram, public buses, marine transport (abra, ferry, water taxi, water bus), e-hail vehicles, smart car rentals, and cabs (Dubai Taxi and franchise companies).

"Dubai Metro accounted for the biggest chunk of riders of public transport, shared mobility and taxi riders reaching 34 per cent, ahead of taxis (30 per cent) followed by public buses (26 per cent)," said Mattar Mohammed Al Tayer, director-general and chairman of the Board of Executive Directors of the RTA.

Every day, 1.63 million riders were recorded, marking an increase from the previous year's daily average of 1.61 million.

"March 2019 was the busiest of all months recording 53.28 million riders, and December was the next witnessing 53 million. Ridership in other months ranged from 45 to 52 million riders," said Al Tayer.

The most popular transport means, the Dubai Metro, had a total of 202.98 million passengers in 2019, with the Burjuman and Union stations - interchange stations on the Red and Green Lines - accounting for the biggest share of riders.

Burjuman Station served 12.76 million riders, while the Union Station was used by 10.6 million.

Al Rigga Station was the busiest on the Red Line serving 9.64 million riders, followed by Burj Khalifa/Dubai Mall (7.89 million riders), Dubai Multi-Commodities Centre Station (7.77 million riders), Mall of the Emirates (7.55 million riders), and Deira City Centre Station (7.42 million riders). On the Green Line, Al Fahidi Station ranked first in terms of riders (7.83 million riders), next came Baniyas Station (6.58 million riders), ahead of the Stadium Station (5.74 million riders), Oud Metha Station (4.99 million riders) and Salahuddin (4.95 million riders).

For the RTA, the figures prove the success they have achieved in providing an effective, convenient public transport network for people in Dubai.

People started to grasp the benefits of using mass transport, including physical and mental relief, higher safety levels, and lower expenditure, the RTA said.

Accordingly, the share of public transport and shared mobility in people's journeys grew from 6 per cent in 2006 to 18.1 per cent in 2019, with an annual cumulative increase of about 8.86 per cent.