There were 346m users of public transport in Dubai in 2020

Nearly 346 million riders used public transport means in Dubai last year which comprised of the metro, tram, buses, marine transport (abra, ferry, water taxi and water bus), e-hail rides, smart rental vehicles and taxis (Dubai Taxi and franchise companies).

It represented an average of around 947,000 riders per day, Dubai transport regulator Roads and Transport Authority said on Wednesday.

The Dubai Metro (Red and Green Lines) served 113.63 million riders in 2020 (74.455 million for the Red Line and 39.172 million riders for the Green Line).

Dubai Tram accounted for 3.65 million riders, public buses lifted 95.41 million riders and marine transit means ferried 8.05 million riders.

Shared transport means, such as e-hail and smart rental vehicles registered 15.29 million riders, and taxis (Dubai Taxi and franchise companies) accounted for 109.94 million riders.

The RTA implemented several measures to stem the spread of Covid-19 on its public transport network.
It undertook sanitising all public transport systems including the metro, buses and taxis.
Physical distancing onboard metro, buses, tram and marine vessels was enforced, face masks were made mandatory for all riders and staff, and ridership was maintained at 70 per cent of the capacity.

346 million riders in #Dubai used mass transit means, shared transport and taxis in 2020 despite Covid-19 challenges, at a time that saw the implementation of precautionary measures to maintain the safety of passengers.https://t.co/d9yLp7C1Dt pic.twitter.com/bMBeluabqX

— Dubai Media Office (@DXBMediaOffice) February 17, 2021

“Measures taken were based on three pillars, the first is to ensure the safety of all employees through fostering a sound and safe working environment. The second is to ensure the RTA’s facilities and public transit means are free from Covid-19 hazards to ensure the continuity of services in the emirate. The third is to continue supporting the Dubai Government efforts in fighting the pandemic. For instance, the RTA was keen to sanitise each train at the end of each journey, and carry out intensive sanitisation of the entire fleet and stations at the end of operations each day,” said Mattar Mohammed Al Tayer, director-general, chairman of the Board of Executive Directors of the RTA.

“The precautionary measures taken by the RTA were rewarded with an international recognition endorsing the efficiency of its COVID-19 measures from Norway’s DNV-GL firm, a premier global entity in the assessment of infection risk control programmes and the management of associated risks, including the performance of health and preventive measures,” added Al Tayer.

Dubai Taxis have carried over 1 billion passengers in 25 years, officials said last month. Dubai taxis clocked in 682 million journeys, riding more than one billion passengers, from 1995 to December 2019. The fleet grew from 81 to 5,201 vehicles, while the number of drivers increased from 886 to 11,500.

Read: Dubai’s RTA announces change for maximum number of passengers permitted in taxis

The newest metro route meanwhile, Route 2020, began operating in January and saw Dubai Metro line extending from Jebel Ali station to Expo 2020 station.