More than 296 million riders used public, shared transport and taxis in the first half of this year in Dubai, according to the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA).
Passenger numbers represented a 6.5 percent growth rate compared to the same period last year while the average daily ridership rose to 1.6 million.
Mattar Al Tayer, director-general and chairman of the RTA, said March was the busiest month during the first half of the year attracting about 53.2 million riders, followed by January (51.7 million.
He added that Dubai Metro has accounted for the highest number of users amounting to 34 percent of the total for the six-month period, followed by taxis (30 percent), and buses (27 percent).
Dubai Metro Red and Green Lines lifted 101.7 million riders during the first half of this year, Al Tayer said.
“The two interchange stations of the Metro Red and Green lines – Burjuman and Union Stations – received the largest number of riders,” he added.
During the first half of 2019, Dubai Tram lifted 3.2 million riders, public buses served 79.3 million, and marine transport ferried 7.2 million.
Shared transport – e-Hail and smart car rental – served 17.7 million and taxis carried 87.8 million passengers.
“People started to grasp the benefits of using public transport such as the peace of mind, physical relief, higher safety and lower expenses on cars.
The figures achieved confirm this concept as the ratio of trips using public and shared transport has almost tripled from six percent in 2006 to 17.5 percent in 2018,” Al Tayer said. More
By
Sam Bridge
