551mn use Dubai public transport in 2017

Dubai / WAM

Mattar Al Tayer, Director-General and Chairman of the Board of Executive Directors of Roads and Transport Authority (RTA), revealed that mass transit means in Dubai comprising the Metro, Tram, Buses, marine transport (Abra, Ferry, Water Taxi & Water Bus), and taxis (Dubai Taxi & franchise companies) had lifted 551.7 m riders in 2017 according to RTA’s Statistics Section.
It reflects an increase over the corresponding number recorded in 2016, which amounted to 543.6 million riders in total. The daily ridership of public transport means in Dubai last year clocked 1.511 million riders.
“The Dubai Metro had taken the largest slice of public transport commuters accounting for 36 percent, followed by taxis (32 percent), and public buses (28 percent). March recorded the highest number of commuters where 49.065mn riders were lifted. The breakdown per mode was as follows: Dubai Metro: 18.003mn riders, taxis: 15.677mn riders, buses: 13.534mn riders, marine transit means: 1.288mn riders, and Dubai Tram: 561,000 riders. December was the second busiest month where ridership clocked 48.857mn riders, and the number of riders was similar in Jan, April, May, October and November at an average of 47mn riders per month. In the remaining months of the year, the total number of riders ranged from 40 to 43mn riders,” explained Al Tayer.
“Last year, the Dubai Metro lifted in both the Red and Green Lines 200.075mn riders compared with 191.3mn riders in 2016. The Red Line of Dubai Metro had seen a healthy growth in 2017 clocking 128.054mn riders compared with 121.6mn riders in 2016. Last year, the Green Line had lifted about 72.021mn riders compared with 69.7mn riders served in 2016. Burjuman and Union Stations, which are the two transfer stations at the intersection of the Red & Green Lines, accounted for the biggest chunk of riders with Burjuman Station recording 12.45mn riders, and the Union Station clocking 10.979mn riders. Al-Rigga Station was the busiest on the Red Line (9.335mn riders) followed by Deira City Center Station (7.709mn riders), ahead of Burj Khalifa Station (7.596mn riders). On the Green Line, Al Fahidi Station ranked first by the number of riders (8.137mn riders), next came Baniyas Station (6.647mn riders), and the third
was the Stadium Station (5.757mn riders),” stated Al Tayer.
“The Dubai Tram had lifted last year 6.023 m riders compared with 5.4 m riders in 2016, and the number of public bus riders recorded 155.032 m riders last year compared with 151.1 m riders in 2016. The marine transport means (abras, waterbus, water taxi and Dubai Ferry) were used by 13.076mn riders last year, which is almost the same number of riders recorded in 2016. Taxis in Dubai (comprising Dubai Taxi, Hala Taxi and Franchise companies) lifted about 175mn riders last year,” he added.
“Comprising a full range of integrated services, the public transport network in Dubai has become the backbone of people’s mobility all over the city. RTA’s efforts, in this regard, contributed to the growing numbers of public transport users across the board. The share of public transport in the mobility of people has leapfrogged from 6 percent in 2006 to 17 percent in 2017. RTA is endeavouring to push the share of public transport (metro, tram, buses, and marine transport) to 20 percent by 2020, and 30percent by 2030.
Equally important, the RTA has managed to transform the culture of various social segments and their attitudes towards using public transport. People have started to grasp the benefits associated with the use of mass transit means such as the physical relief, peace of mind, financial saving, high safety, and lower expenses of car usage in terms of fuel and maintenance among others,” added Al Tayer.