Metro riders fined for travelling in wrong class

Three people are fined Dh100 each this week for using the wrong Metro carriage.

DUBAI // Three people were fined Dh100 each this week for using the wrong Metro carriage - the first riders to be penalised for travelling in Gold Class without paying the higher fee. After announcing the violations, the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) started a campaign yesterday to educate commuters about how to behave properly on the Metro, and what fines would be levied if they did not. The RTA began broadcasting advertisements on radio stations in Arabic, English, Hindi, Malaysian and Tagalog.

"We are also going to start distributing a lot of fliers around the town and in the Metro stations," said Peyman Younes Parham, the director of marketing and corporate communications at the authority. The campaign, he said, would include door drops as well as advertising in newspapers. Rail officials issued the fines to individuals who used Silver Nol cards to sit in Gold Class, Mr Parham said, adding that male commuters were also being urged not use ladies' and children's cabins, even if travelling with their families.

A single one-zone ticket on a Silver Nol card cost Dh2.30, while the same distance in Gold Class costs Dh4.60. Fines can be levied for 31 different infractions, including eating and drinking on the Metro, riding for longer than the fare allows or tampering or destroying with any part of the system. The most serious charges carry a fine of Dh2,000 (US$544). "Failure to comply with the instructions or disrupting the business of RTA inspectors or persons authorised by the [authority] is a Dh200 fine," he said.

Mall of the Emirates station was the most popular on Wednesday, drawing 7,911 passengers. That was followed by Khalid bin Al Waleed (6,529). The only other station next to a mall, City Centre, had 4,550 passengers. Jafliah saw the least traffic, with 1,776 people. "These figures are a huge success to the RTA as they reflect the significant public uptake of Dubai Metro as a means of mobility," Mr Parham said.

Several passengers also pressed emergency stop buttons for no reason during the first week of operations, an action that can cause a delay on the network of up to an hour. [e-mail]