Have you ever found yourself standing at a bustling train station during your daily commute, pondering whether the crowds are a common sight elsewhere? Well, your curiosity can now be satisfied. The Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) has unveiled the busiest stations on the Dubai Metro, sharing passenger statistics for the first half of 2024. Over this six-month period, an impressive 133 million passengers utilized the red and green lines of the Dubai Metro.

The most frequented stations were BurJuman and Union, both of which serve as key transfer points for the red and green lines. BurJuman recorded a staggering 7.8 million users, while Union saw 6.3 million. On the red line, Al Rigga was a close contender with 6.2 million users, followed by Mall of the Emirates with 5.6 million and Business Bay with 5.2 million passengers. On the green line, Sharaf DG led the pack with 4.7 million users, trailed by Baniyas station at 4.1 million and Stadium station, which welcomed 3.3 million users.

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The Dubai Metro accounted for a significant 37 percent of all public transport riders in Dubai, with 27 percent opting for taxis and 24.5 percent choosing public buses. The RTA reported that the total number of users across various public transport and shared mobility options in Dubai—including the Metro, Tram, public buses, marine transport, taxis, e-hail vehicles, smart rental vehicles, and on-demand buses—reached approximately 361.2 million in the first half of 2024.

This comes as a notable increase, with passenger numbers climbing 6 percent compared to the same period in 2023, despite the temporary closure of four major Dubai Metro stations for over a month. In the first half of 2024, public transport usage surged to 361.2 million, up from 340.5 million in the first half of 2023. January emerged as the peak month, seeing 65 million users, while the subsequent months recorded between 53 million and 63 million users each. The Dubai Tram catered to 4.5 million passengers, public buses transported 89.2 million, and marine transport recorded 9.7 million users. Additionally, shared mobility options, including e-hail vehicles, hourly rental vehicles, and on-demand buses, served 27.8 million passengers, while taxis in Dubai carried an impressive 97 million passengers during this period.

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Dubai Transport Numbers Rise

As public transport usage continues to rise, the RTA is committed to enhancing services to accommodate the growing demand. His Excellency Mattar Al Tayer, the Director General and Chairman of the Board of Executive Directors of the RTA, emphasized that the authority’s strategic and operational plans focus on achieving multi-modal integration of all public transportation and shared mobility options to ensure seamless mobility throughout Dubai.

“Our plans include the development and expansion of road networks and all elements of public transport—metro, tram, buses, marine transport, and first and last-mile solutions—along with improved and integrated pedestrian and cycling infrastructure,” stated Al Tayer.

“RTA is also dedicated to implementing traffic management systems to maximize the efficiency of roads and public transport and is enacting policies to encourage the public to reduce reliance on private vehicles and increase the use of public and shared transport. Our strategic objective is to raise the share of public and shared transport journeys to 25 percent by 2030, up from 20.9 percent recorded at the end of 2023.”

Earlier this year, it was announced that the total number of Dubai Metro stations is projected to more than double from the current 64 stations to 140 stations by 2040, further enhancing the city’s public transport infrastructure.

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