Dubai’s public transport system has reported a significant increase in the number of passengers in 2023. According to the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA), the number of passengers of public transport and shared mobility in Dubai amounted to around 702 million riders in 2023, which is an increase of 13% when compared to the ridership numbers in 2022.
The average daily ridership of public transport, shared mobility, and taxis also increased from 1.7 million riders in 2022 to 1.92 million in 2023. Mattar Al Tayer, Director General, Chairman of the Board of Executive Directors, RTA expressed his delight over the consistent annual increase in public transport usage. He attributed the increase to the substantial investments and concerted efforts to promote public transport, highlighted by the launch of Dubai Metro, the world’s longest driverless metro network extending 90 km, the 11 km-long Dubai Tram, and the extension of the bus routes from 2,095 km to 3,967 km (in both directions) from 2006 to 2023.
He also mentioned deploying a modern fleet of public buses comprising 1,400 buses compatible with the European specifications for low carbon emissions “Euro 6”, and operating an integrated marine transport network including traditional Abras, Dubai Ferry, and water taxis. RTA is consistently expanding and upgrading the public transport network, and 2024 is set to mark the commencement of the Dubai Metro Blue Line project, which will stretch over a total of 30 km, with 15.5 km running underground and 14.5 km above ground. It encompasses 14 stations including 3 interchange stations, connecting key areas in Dubai to cope with the projected demographic growth of surrounding areas to one million people as per the Dubai Urban Master Plan 2040.
It also integrates with the Red and Green lines of the Metro, offering a direct link between Dubai International Airport and nine principal areas situated along its route. The journey time between these destinations is expected to vary from 10 to 25 minutes. Dubai Metro attracted the largest proportion of the public transport, shared mobility, and taxi ridership in 2023, amounting to 37%, compared to 36% in 2022, whereas, taxis acquired 28% compared to 29.5% in 2022.
The share of public bus riders hit 25%, and shared mobility riders grew from 5% in 2022 to 6% in 2023. Meanwhile, marine transport and Dubai Tram maintained their ridership levels, which amounted to 3% for marine transport, and 1% for Dubai Tram. In 2023, the Dubai Tram served 8.84 million passengers, marking an 18% rise from 2022.
Public buses saw ridership of 173.5 million, up by 10%. Marine transport means including abras, water buses, water taxis, and the Dubai Ferry accounted for 17.43 million passengers, showing a 9% increase. Shared mobility means comprising e-hail, smart car rental, and Bus-On-Demand, carried 43.61 million passengers, reflecting a substantial 34% growth. Taxis, encompassing Dubai Taxi Company and franchise companies, transported 198.44 million passengers, registering an 8% increase over 2022.
