About 337 million journeys were made on Dubai's <a href="https://www.thenationalnews.com/uae/2023/02/26/dubai-public-transport-boom-as-621-million-journeys-made-in-2022/" target="_blank">public transport network</a> in the first half of this year – an 11 per cent increase on the same period in 2022. The significant surge comes amid the emirate's rapid <a href="https://www.thenationalnews.com/uae/2023/06/29/a-closer-look-how-will-dubai-host-a-surging-population/#:~:text=According%20to%20the%20Dubai%20Statistics,million%20mark%20in%20April%202022." target="_blank">population boom</a> and a sustained focus on boosting public transport services in an effort to take cars off the road to cut congestion and help the environment. Dubai's population surpassed 3.5 million in April 2022 and now stands at 3.61 million, according to the Dubai Statistics Centre's <a href="https://www.dsc.gov.ae/en-us/Pages/default.aspx">live population counter</a>. The latest passenger figures, released by the emirate's Roads and Transport Authority on Sunday, show the Dubai Metro is still the most popular mode of public transport in the emirate. More than 123 million rides were taken on the service's Green and Red lines during the first six months of this year. This compares to more than 96 million trips using Dubai's fleet of public <a href="https://www.thenationalnews.com/uae/2023/05/29/more-than-27-million-dubai-taxi-rides-made-in-first-three-months-of-2023/" target="_blank">taxis</a> and 83 million journeys on public buses. There were also 21 million shared mobility journeys – such as carpooling – as well as 9.1 million trips on marine transport and 4.2 million rides on the Dubai Tram. Mattar Al Tayer, Director General of the Roads and Transport Authority, said March had been the busiest month of the year so far, with 60 million journeys made. “Ridership increased by 11% in the first half of 2023 in comparison with the same period in 2022,” he said. “These results are a significant indicator of the resurgence of Dubai’s economic activity, as well as RTA’s the effective initiatives to encourage residents and visitors to use public transportation and offer diverse mobility options for Dubai’s residents. “Dubai’s integrated public transport network has now become the backbone of people's movement around Dubai. The network was successful in coaxing a change and evolution in the community’s culture and attitudes towards using various public transport means.” In May the Roads and Transport Authority launched three new bus routes to help connect passengers with popular Metro stations. The Route 51 bus travels between Al Khail Gate and Business Bay Metro station, with buses every 20 minutes during peak hours. Route SH1 carries commuters between Dubai Mall Metro station and Sobha Realty Metro station, in JLT, with buses running every 60 minutes. Route YM1 operates hourly between UAE Exchange Metro station, in Jebel Ali, and Yiwu Market, based in the Jebel Ali Free Zone. The RTA said the new routes are part of an effort to integrate public transport services in the emirate, particularly the Dubai Metro.
