97m more people using Dubai public transport

• Image Credit: RTA
• Dubai Metro remains the most popular mode of transport. It transported 81.40 million riders in the first six months of the year, averaging 452,000 riders daily.

Dubai: Commuters are increasingly opting to use public transport with riders surpassing 260 million during the first half of the year — more than 130 times Dubai’s current population.

Dubai’s public transport ridership increased by 97 million (37 per cent) from January to June this year at 262.56 million from just 165.52 million users from the first half of last year, according to statistics released by the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) on Saturday.

The ridership in the first half of the year is only about 40 per cent short of last year’s total ridership of 440.667 million.

Every day from January to June, some 1.45 million commuters used the Dubai Metro, public buses, marine transit modes and taxis. Last year, daily ridership was pegged at 1.3 million.