By Matovu Abdallah Twaha www.gulftoday.ae
DUBAI: For most Metro users who don’t understand what the zoning and re-zoning of the Dubai Metro actually means, The Gulf Today spoke to the man in charge, who explained that “what we have done favours labourers and monthly subscribers.”
The Director of the Unified Automated Fare Collection Department at the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA), Mohammad Yousuf Al Mudharreb said, “We moved from five to seven zones, and the fare has largely gone down particularly for monthly Nol card subscribers and people living near labour camp areas on the side of Al Qusais. It remained unchanged for some and rose a little bit for a few.”
He also explained how the fare could reduce from Dhs420 a month by a daily rider to Dhs270 if he switches to monthly subscription.
“The maximum fare for any journeys made in one day is Dhs14. Therefore, if a one rides daily and frequently, he can spend Dhs420. However, the maximum cost of our monthly Nol card is Dhs270, but we also have monthly passes available for Dhs180 for those travelling across two zones and Dhs100 for those who travel in a single zone.”
“All the three passes can be used for unlimited travel within the prescribed zones for the month of its subscription,” Al Mudharreb added.
He said that existing Nol Blue card holders will be able to convert the same cards into any type of pass they want, free of charge, while those who don’t have Blue cards would have to buy the passes by paying Dhs70.
A short trip of within 3km remains at a cost of Dhs1.8 while a journey of more than 3km starts at Dhs2.3, whereas the maximum fare for any journey is Dhs5.8.
