Full information about the city’s public transport is available on the Roads & Transport Authority (RTA) website at wrta.ae. The RTA also provide an excellent online travel planner at wwojhati.rta.ae.
By metro
The Dubai Metro (wrta.ae) offers a cheap, fast and convenient way of getting around, with state-of-the-art driverless trains running on a mixture of underground and overground lines, and eye-catching modern stations.
The metro consists of two lines. The 52km-long Red Line starts in Rashidiya, just south of the airport, and then runs via the airport and city centre south down Sheikh Zayed Road to Jebel Ali. The 22km-long Green Line arcs around the city centre, running from Al Qusais, north of the airport, via Deira and Bur Dubai and then down to the Creek.
Trains run roughly every 4–8 minutes, with services operating Sat–Thurs from around 5.30am until midnight (and until 1am on Thurs), and on Fridays from 10am to 1am. Fares are calculated according to the distance travelled ranging from 3dh up to a maximum of 7.5dh for a single trip (or from 6dh to 15dh in Gold Class), or 20dh for an entire day’s travel (40dh in Gold Class). Children under 5 or shorter than 0.9m travel free. Note that tickets are sold at the information kiosks located at the departure gates in all stations in the event that the actual ticket office is shut (as they often are).
All trains have a Gold Class compartment at the front or back of the train (look for the signs above the platform barriers) – costing double the standard fare. These have slightly plusher seating and decor, although the main benefit is that they’re usually fairly empty, meaning that you’re pretty much guaranteed a seat. Given how packed ordinary-class carriages often are and how reasonably priced the system is, you might feel that paying a bit extra for Gold Class is well worth the relatively modest sums involved. All trains also carry a dedicated carriage for women and children next to the Gold Class compartment. Again, these are generally a lot less crowded than ordinary-class carriages.
By tram
Opened in late 2014, the new Dubai Tram has plugged one of the last major holes in the city’s transport infrastructure, offering a convenient (if not desperately fast) way of getting around the Marina and north towards Umm Suqeim – the system is eventually planned to extend all the way up to the Madinat Jumeirah. The network links seamlessly with the metro (with interconnecting stations at Jumeirah Lakes Towers and DAMAC Properties/Dubai Marina) and also the Palm Monorail. As on the metro, fares are covered by the Nol system and all trams have Gold Class and women-and-children-only carriages. Operating hours are Sat–Thurs 6.30am–1am, Fri 9am–1am, with departures every 8min.
By taxi
Away from areas served by the metro and tram, the only way of getting around quickly and conveniently is by taxi. Cabs are usually plentiful at all times of day and night almost everywhere in the city with the important exception of Bur Dubai and Deira, where you might sometimes struggle to catch one, particularly during the morning and evening rush hours and after dark. Large malls and big hotels are always good places to pick up a cab; if not, just stand on the street and wave at anything that passes. Taxis are operated by various companies and come in assorted colours, though all have yellow taxi signs on the roof, illuminated when the vehicle is available for rent. Taxis are run by a number of firms (Cars Taxi, Dubai Taxi and National Taxis are the largest); they can be booked on the central booking number at t04 208 0808.
Fares
Fares are pretty good value. There’s a minimum charge of 12dh per ride, with a basic flag fare of 5dh plus 1.71dh per kilometre. The exception is for taxis picked up from the airport, where a 20dh flag fare is imposed; there’s also a 20dh surcharge if you take a taxi into Sharjah. Booking by phone adds an extra 3dh to the fare (or 7dh 10pm to 6am). If you want a taxi to wait for you, it costs 0.50dh per minute. You’ll also have to pay a 4dh surcharge if your taxi travels through a Salik tollgate. For a full list of fares and charges, visit wdubaitaxi.ae. A small number of “ladies’ cabs” (all with female drivers) are also available for the use of women and families only, at slightly increased rates.
Drivers and complaints
The majority of taxi drivers (most are Pakistani or Indian, including many from Kerala) are well trained and will be familiar with all the main city landmarks, although if you’re going anywhere more obscure you might have to help them find the way; if in doubt, try to have directions or a full address to hand. If you get completely stuck, get them to ring up their control centre for help. Rumours of taxi drivers inflating fares by driving newly arrived tourists five times around the block occasionally surface, but appear to have no basis in reality; the whole industry is stringently regulated, and drivers are unlikely to risk their jobs for the sake of a few extra dirhams. Be aware, though, that Dubai’s labyrinthine traffic systems often add considerably to the distances between A and B. If you get into a cab and the driver seems to head off in completely the wrong direction it’s likely to be because he has to turn around or find the correct exit/entrance to a particular road. If you think you have a genuine grievance and you wish to lodge a complaint, you'll need to register and then submit details online at wdubaitaxi.ae. Make sure you take the driver’s ID number before you leave. Tips aren’t strictly necessary, though many taxi drivers will automatically keep the small change from fares unless you specifically ask for it back.
Taxi drivers might occasionally refuse to take you if you’re travelling only a short distance. This is most frequently the case outside hotels and malls where drivers are obliged to join a long queue to pick up a fare. Strictly speaking, they’re obliged to take you however short the journey, though in practice if they’ve been waiting for an hour and you only want to go around the block you can see their point. If this happens, just walk back down the queue of taxis until you find a more willing driver. The only other occasion when a driver may refuse your fare is if it’s likely to get them stuck in a massive traffic jam (such as when crossing the Creek during the morning or evening rush hours).
Finally, watch out for the hotel limousines which sometimes try to pass themselves off as conventional taxis (hotel doormen may sometimes try to get you into one of these, pretending they’re ordinary taxis). These are metered, but usually cost around twice the price of a normal cab and have no perceptible benefits apart from leather upholstery and the overwhelming smell of cheap air freshener. Remember, if it doesn’t have a yellow taxi sign on the roof, it’s not a proper taxi.
By abra
Despite contemporary Dubai’s obsession with modern technology, getting from one side of the Creek to the other in the city centre is still a charmingly old-fashioned experience, involving a trip in one of the hundreds of rickety little boats – or abras – which ferry passengers between Deira and Bur Dubai. It’s a wonderful little journey, offering superb views of the fascinating muddle of creekside buildings with their tangles of souks, wind towers, mosques and minarets. Note that small bumps and minor collisions between boats are common when docking and departing, so take care or you might find yourself not so much up the Creek as in it.
There are two main abra routes: one from the Deira Old Souk Abra Station (next to the Spice Souk) to the Bur Dubai Abra Station (at the north end of the Textile Souk), and another from Al Sabkha Abra Station (at the southern end of the Dhow Wharfage in Deira) to the Bur Dubai Old Souk Abra Station (in the middle of the Textile Souk). There’s a third abra route from Al Seef Station at the southern end of Bur Dubai to Baniyas Station, near Baniyas Square in Deira. The fare is a measly 1dh per crossing. Boats leave as soon as full, meaning in practice every couple of minutes, and the crossing takes about five minutes. Abras run from 6am to midnight, and 24hr on the route from Bur Dubai Old Souk to Al Sabkha (though with a reduced service between midnight and 6am).
