#The UAE Bucket List: 1. The Dubai Metro

Public transportation is very vital to everybody, especially to people that don’t have their car. In the United Arab Emirates, given the number of expats and tourists, public transportation is an essential factor.

UAE made it into the Guinness Book of World Records and set its record-breaking claim to have the longest driverless metro network in the world with 74.695 kilometers. This achievement tops the one  already made by the Dubai Metro Red Line in September 2011, when it set a new record  as the longest driverless metro line in the world at 52 km. (source: Gulf News, year 2012)

If you ever visited other countries like Hong Kong or Singapore, you can easily understand how to use the train and switch from one line to another.

This article aims to teach people that are new to Dubai how to use the metro in a way that is simple and understandable for their stay or vacation to become much more accessible and fun.

So there are three essential things to consider before taking up the challenge of riding the metro:

• Put in your mind that it is public transport, that means there will be a lot of people
• Be sure you carry money (dirhams specifically), so you can buy the card and top it up
• If you get lost, don’t panic, enjoy the experience!

So now, we are going to start making the Dubai experience more fun under the sun!

Are you ready? Then get a pen and take this Dubai experience to the next level.

So the first thing to know: where is the metro station? There are multiple areas where you can enter the metro and start your journey. It will just be a matter of finding a station near to you. Just in case you don’t know how the metro station in Dubai looks like, the picture below is an example.

BUT, there will always be a but to everything. And as far as I know, there are two metro stations, namely Al Ghubaiba and Al Ras who have a different structure than the one showed above which might trick you out. So to give you an example, see below.

As you can see, the above pictures will give you an idea how the two metro stations look different from the usual one, so if ever you encounter this metro station, you know what to do.

You should note that the inside layout of every metro station is different for each of them; reading signs is useful all the time. Upon entering the metro station, you need to approach any ticket counter or ticket vending machine and buy a Nol Card.

The above picture shows the different colors of the Nol Card.

1. Silver Card
   An anonymous card with an e-purse that can be loaded with up to AED 5000.
   Price: AED 25 (includes AED 19 e-purse value)
   Ideal for you if:
   -You are a visitor or light user
   -You want to get & use the card immediately
   -You usually load small amounts at a time, so you do not require balance protection if you lose your card



2. Gold Card
   An anonymous card with the same features as the Silver Card, but it gives you the privileged access to Metro’s Gold Class seats for premium charges.
   Price: AED 25 (includes AED 19 e-purse value)
3. Blue Card
   A personal card with a secure e-purse that can be loaded with up to AED 500.
   Price: AED 70 (includes AED 20 e-purse value)
   Ideal for you if:
   -You are a frequent traveler
   -You usually load your card with high values and need the security of funds
   -You use online services frequently
   -You are a Student, Child, Senior, with special needs
4. Red Ticket
   A paper-based ticket that doesn’t have e-purse, and can be loaded with 10 trips.
   Price: AED 2 and a minimum of 1 trip (costs of the trips vary depending on the zones)

From these, I am going to recommend the Silver Card because it is cheaper and easier to have one card for your entire stay rather than purchasing a Red Ticket every single time you will use the train. All you need to do is to top it up now and then. If you want to see it yourself and compare fares, you can click here

Again, you can buy the Nol Card at the ticket counters inside the metro, or you can do it at the ticket vending machines. If you are a first-timer, better to do it at the counter rather than the machine, so it is easier.

If you want to use the ticket vending machine, it will be easy as well as long as you follow what the machine says. If you need more assistance, you can ask someone in the metro station, but I strongly suggest just to buy it at the ticket counter. *Take note: the minimum balance for a Silver Card is 7.50 AED, and you need to maintain this so you can use the card. There are random inspections inside the metro stations, and bus stops throughout Dubai for the Nol Card, so if you are caught using the card under the minimum balance, you will pay a fine.

How to use the Nol Card: click here

So, if you tried riding a train in Hong Kong, the Nol Card is similar to the Octopus Card.

The next thing is to figure out how to go to your destination and how to switch lines. There are two official lines at the moment, the Red and Green line.

Etisalat ————————— Burjuman/Union —————————— Creek

Rashidiya ———————— Burjuman/Union —————————UAE Exchange

As you can see on the above illustration, the green line starts from Etisalat and ends in Creek, while the red line starts from Rashidiya and ends in UAE Exchange (some stations are changing names, not all the time, but it happens).

There are maps and information booklets available in the metro stations to serve as a guide, and I am going to teach you how I did it during the first time I used the metro.

When I topped up already, what I do next is to go to the center where there is a big schematic map of the station take a look where I want to go. So let us say it is like this:

Green line journey scenario: I am at the Oud Metha Station, and I want to go to the Reef Mall, which is located at the Salah Al Din Station.

Oud Metha— BurJuman— Al Fahidi — Al Ghubaiba — Al Ras —Palm Deira —Baniyas Square — Union —Salah Al Din

Red line journey scenario: I am at Rashidiya Station, and I want to go to the Emirates Towers Station.

Rashidiya — Emirates — Airport Terminal 3 — Airport Terminal 1— GGICO — Deira City Center —Al Rigga — Union — BurJuman — ADCB — Al Jafiliya — World Trade Centre — Emirates Towers

As you can see in the illustration, no switching of lines happened because the destination is on the same line color. You will pass by the switching stations BurJuman and Union, but you will not need to hop out of the train.

Green to red line scenario: I am at the Oud Metha Station, and I want to go to the Deira City Centre Station.

Oud Metha — BurJuman (switch from green to red: identify where Deira City Centre is located, is it going to towards Rashidiya or UAE Exchange) — Union — Al Rigga — Deira City Centre (Towards Rashidiya)

In this scenario, you can opt to either switch at the Burjuman or the Union Station, and I choose to change lines at the Burjuman Station. An essential part when switching is to find where your destination is; is it towards the other side of the red line, which is Rashidiya or is it going towards UAE Exchange. This is the thing to take note for you not to be lost.

Red to green line scenario: I am at the Al Rigga Station, and I want to go to the Dubai Healthcare City Station.

Al Rigga — Union (switch from red to the green line: identify where Dubai Healthcare City is located, is it towards Etisalat or Creek) — Burjuman — Oud Metha — Dubai Healthcare City

In this scenario, I used the Union Station to switch, but Burjuman will do as well. The most important part here is to identify where the Dubai Healthcare City Station is located, is it towards Etisalat or Creek.

When using the Dubai Metro, the thing that will always help a passenger in the presence of mind and always ask yourself which destination do you need to go when do you need to switch lines. This is something essential, and the one thing I learned that made switching easy.

One more thing, if you are in doubt and you are scared to ask your fellow passenger, the best person you can rely on is the one sitting in the ticket counter. There is also RTA staff inside the train; sometimes, they will be around and always ready to help.

Please be reminded that eating and drinking is not allowed inside the train. Sleeping inside the train will cost you a fine and for male passengers: please take note which area or cabin of the train you are boarding. Since this is an Arab country, we need to respect that there are sections of the train which are intended only for female and children, the law mandates that and not following this regulation will also incur a fine. There are signs on the station floor, pink in color means “not for male passengers.”

If ever you are lost, one tip: DON’T BE PISSED! Play it cool and chill and like anybody else, you should remember, getting lost is not a death-defying stunt, so all you need to do is relax.

Enjoy the #UAE Bucket List series!