Dubai Public Transport Records 348.1 Million Riders in First Half of 2026

DUBAI — Dubai's public transport network, shared mobility services and taxis carried around 348.1 million riders during the first half of 2026, with average daily ridership reaching nearly 1.9 million, the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) announced, in figures that underscore the city's continued commitment to smart, efficient, and sustainable mobility.

The total covers users of the Dubai Metro, Dubai Tram, public buses and marine transport, alongside taxis and shared mobility services — including app-based vehicles, hourly rentals, and bus-on-demand. Limousines separately carried 5.7 million riders over the same period.

The Dubai Metro remained the most-used mode, carrying 136.5 million passengers on its Red and Green lines and accounting for roughly four of every ten public-transport journeys. Taxis served 88.9 million riders and public buses carried 85.1 million, with the Metro and buses together making up around 64 percent of total public-transport ridership. Shared mobility services accounted for 25.7 million riders, marine transport for 8.1 million, and the Dubai Tram for 3.8 million. January was the busiest month, with 73.4 million passengers.

“The indicators recorded in the first half of this year demonstrate the success of Dubai's vision to build a world-class integrated transport ecosystem founded on sustainability, innovation, and integration across different modes of transport,” said Mattar Al Tayer, Director-General and Chairman of the Board of Executive Directors of the RTA. He added that growing public confidence in the network has strengthened a culture of sustainable mobility.

Al Tayer said the RTA has already begun operating self-driving taxis and is preparing to launch commercial air taxi services later this year, alongside progress on the Dubai Loop project. The authority is continuing to integrate public transport, shared mobility, and first- and last-mile solutions with pedestrian, cycling, and intelligent traffic networks.

The RTA aims to raise the share of journeys made using public transport and shared mobility to 25 percent by 2030, in line with the Dubai 2040 Urban Master Plan and the Dubai Economic Agenda (D33) — up from 22.3 percent in 2025 and just 6 percent in 2006.