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Dubai / WAM
Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority (RTA), announced ridership of public transit means in Dubai, comprising Metro, Tram, Buses and marine transit modes as well as e-hail vehicles, smart rental cars and taxis (Dubai Taxi and franchise companies), have combined lifted about 589 million riders in 2018. The figure reflects a notable increase from 2017, which amounted to 569 million riders. The daily public transport ridership clocked 1.610 million riders in 2018; which compares well with 1.56 million riders reported in 2017.
Dubai Metro accounted for the lion’s share in ridership of shared public transport, accounting for 35%, followed by taxis (30%), and buses (29%).
Dubai Metro (Red and Green Lines) lifted about 204.4 million riders last year, compared with 200.8 riders in 2017. The Red Line carried 132.4 million riders compared to 128.5 million riders in 2017. The Green Line served 72 million riders last year; which was similar to the number of passengers carried in 2017. Burjuman and Union Stations, the two transfer stations shared by the Red and Green Lines, handled the largest number of riders last year. Burjuman Station served 12.8 million riders, and the Union Station served 10.9 million riders.
Reflecting on the statistics, Mattar Al Tayer, Director-General and Chairman of the Board of Executive Directors of RTA, said, “December recorded the highest number of public transport riders clocking 52.4 million riders, with breakdown as follows: 18.2 million riders for Dubai Metro, 15.4 million riders for taxis, 14.7 million riders for buses, 2.1 million riders for shared transport (e-hail and rental cars), 1.4 million riders for marine transport, and 580 thousand riders for Dubai Tram. March saw the second highest ridership rates recording 52.3 million riders. Ridership in the remaining months ranged from 45 million to 52 million riders.