Dubai Metro takes biggest chunk of commuters with over 200m, up 9m compared to 2016
More than 550 million people used public transport in Dubai during 2017, the Roads and Transport Authority has announced.
The 551.7 million figure reflects a daily ridership of 1.51 million and an increase over 2016, when 543.6 million people used the transport system.
Mattar Al Tayer, director-general and chairman of the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA), said Dubai Metro had the largest slice of commuters accounting for 36 percent, followed by taxis (32 percent), and public buses (28 percent).
March recorded the highest number of commuters when over 49 million riders were lifted followed by December (48.8 million), Al Tayer added.
Last year, Dubai Metro lifted over 200 million riders compared with 191.3 million in 2016. The Red Line clocked 128 million users while the Green Line lifted about 72 million.
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.
Al Tayer said Dubai Tram lifted more than 6 million riders compared with 5.4 million in 2016 while marine transport means (abras, waterbus, water taxi and Dubai Ferry) were used by 13 million people in 2017.
Al Tayer added: "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 to 20 percent by 2020, and 30 percent by 2030.
"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,” he said.
He added that the RTA plans to also encourage car-pooling in Dubai.
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