Every year the RTA organises Dubai Ferry New Year’s Eve trips to enable people to go and see the fireworks in different locations in the Emirate.
These trips are always very popular with the public and sell out quite quickly. This year is no exception and the RTA has extended the trips that it is offering to more locations. Continue reading Dubai Ferry New Year’s Eve 2019/20
Due to the adverse weather conditions that seem to be approaching Dubai, there is a possibility that ferry services may be interrupted or cancelled tomorrow (Wednesday 20th November).
There is wind and rain forecast, together with possible thunderstorms which will likely affect driving conditions and the running of public transport and the RTA has advised anyone who is thinking of travelling on the Ferry tomorrow to contact them to check if the service they want to travel on is still running.
The Tweet from the RTA advised calling their service center on 800 9090 to check details of sailings.
Drivers were also advised to take great care when travelling and schools in Dubai are likely to be shut for the day due to the heavy rain.
Due to the expected adverse weather conditions at sea, it may be likely that some of our ferry services may be subjected to temporary disruption. Customers are kindly asked to contact RTA customer Service Centre on
800 9090 for further information. pic.twitter.com/2MBWgBxTDS— RTA (@rta_dubai) November 19, 2019
The RTA has introduced a new ferry route between the emirates of Dubai and Sharjah.
This is the first route between 2 emirates as all other routes are within Dubai.
The ferry service will run 42 times each day and you can find full details of the service here.
The service is a welcome addition to the commuters from Sharjah who often have to battle through traffic jams to get to Dubai.
There are also free shuttle buses running to the Sharjah terminal with the possibility of these expanding in the future as the demand grows for the service.
Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) has endorsed a three-phase 10-year plan to improve marine transport services on Dubai Water Canal 2020-2030. The plan envisages upgrading marine transit services on Dubai Water Canal to keep pace with the urban development on the two shores of the Canal.
“The initial phase covers a short-term plan 2019-2020, which already started in April. It includes modifying the current marine transport line on the Canal to link Jaddaf, Dubai Design District and Sheikh Zayed Road Stations. The revised line excludes Marasi Station and endorses the deployment of the Water Bus instead of Dubai Ferry to run the service. The Water Taxi service at these stations remains unchanged,” explained Mohammed Abu Bakr Al Hashimi, Director of Marine Transport at RTA’s Public Transport Agency.
“In concurrence with these changes, abra service will be running on two new lines to commute riders between the Al Wajeha Al Maeyah, Marasi and Sheikh Zayed Road Stations. By 2020, marine transit modes will be beefed up to include two water buses on the revised line, and three abras on the new line. The plan contributes to shortening the service frequency and meeting the needs of riders on these lines.
“The second phase is a Medium-Term Plan 2025. It covers the operation of nine stations in the central sector of the Canal over and above the existing stations, which will be served by five new lines. It involves modifying the current line of the Water Bus to serve two stations, namely Dubai Creek Marina Station and Business Bay Promenade Station. One Water Bus and five abras will be added in 2025 and 2026,” explained Al Hashimi.
“The Long-Term Plan 2030 covers the addition of four stations on Dubai coastal line namely Jumeirah 2, Al Safa 2, Sheikh Zayed Road 2, and Godolphin. The proposed modes here are one waterbus and two ferries that will bring the total number of water transport modes in the network to four waterbuses and ten abras by the end of the plan.
“The improvement of water transport services on the Dubai Water Canal is linked to the projected development on the shores of this vital facility. The plan has been conceived following the assessment of the current services and the listing of marine transport assets and lines. It conforms to RTA’s strategic vision of uplifting water transport network considering it a key contributor to Dubai’s profile in offering excellent passenger and tourist transport services in the Emirate,” he added.
The RTA have announced that they are starting a new circular trip starting from the Sheikh Zayed Road Marine Station on Dubai Water Canal on a trial basis.
The trip will leave Sheikh Zayed Road station and travel towards Business Bay and Festival City and then enter the Creek. It will take in quite a few of the landmarks of the area including the Burj Khalifa and Al Seef so would be a really great route for tourists to take to see a lot of the city from the water. It will exit the creek and return to SZR Marine station via the sea and Dubai Water Canal Station, thus taking a circular route.
We are endeavouring to find out the duration of the trip but by the looks of the route we believe it should take at least 90 minutes to complete.
The RTA announcement is as follows:
Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) has launched a new circular marine line served by Dubai Ferry starting from Sheikh Zayed Road Station. The service, which will run on a trial base, aims to explore tourist attractions and increase the marine tourism amongst visitors, citizens and residents.
“The new line is launched as a test-run on a route starting from Sheikh Zayed Road Station on Dubai Water Canal. It passes through Burj Khalifa, Festival City, Dubai Creek, Old Souq, Al Seef, Spice Souq, La Mer (Jumeirah) and back to Sheikh Zayed Road Station. The launch of this line is part of RTA’s efforts to enhance the tourist profile of these areas, which have an attractive array of captivating urban landmarks,” said Mohammed Abu Baker Al Hashimi, Director of Marine Transport at RTA’s Public Transport Agency.
RTA has provided parking spaces for users of this service around Sheikh Zayed Road Station on Dubai Water Canal. The service is available on Thursday at 09:00 pm or 10:00 pm, and on Friday from 04:00 pm up to 10:00 pm every week.
The service is subject to demand and will be operated if there is a minimum of 21 adult riders. The fare is AED50 for silver class and AED75 for gold class. Children from age 2 to 10 years will have a 50% discount, and the journey will be free for those under the age of two. Interested riders can communicate with RTA Call Center (8009090) to know more about the journey.
“RTA is always keen on launching initiatives to boost beach tourism in Dubai, especially as Dubai has a long coastal line with huge tourist attractions. The launch of this line will support RTA’s strategic plans aimed at attracting more fans to marine tourism,” added Al Hashimi.
Update: This route is no longer running
The RTA, in partnership with Emaar properties, has announced a new route for the ferry service that will start next week.
The route will run from Dubai Marina to Wajeha al Maeyah and then return back to Dubai Marina station.
There will be a shuttle service that will run from Wajeha al Maeyah to Dubai Mall and back so that ferry passengers have a direct route to Dubai Mall from the Marine transport station.
We are waiting to confirm when the route will start and whether it will operate one or twice a day. At present there is one sailing each way.
This means that if you want to take a return trip on this route and have time to visit Dubai Mall you will need to take the 3.15pm ferry from Dubai Marina and return at 5.15pm.
On the trip you will be able to see the iconic sights of Dubai including the Burj Khalifa and the Burj al Arab.
Alternatively you could just take a one way trip either from or to Dubai Mall or the Marina.
The cost of a ticket is Dh68.25 (inclusive of VAT) per adult and Dh52.50 for children from 5 to 12 years. Children under 5 travel free of charge.
Tickets can be bought at Marine Transport stations or from the Burj Khalifa. They are also be available to purchase from the Burj Khalifa website. You can also buy them from the guest services desks at Dubai Marina Mall or The Dubai Mall.
Ahmed Al Falasi, Executive Director of Group Operations at Emaar Properties, said: “The new ferry service is a remarkable addition that will add to the touristic attractions in the city. Following the promotion of Dubai Ferry to visitors and tourist groups touring At the Top, Burj Khalifa, we had seen a growing interest in using the ferry service. Now with this exclusive service for Emaar’s visitors, residents and tourist groups, they have the added convenience of touring of the city’s most popular lifestyle destinations.”
We recently reported the timings for the Dubai Ferry for the holiday of Eid al Fitr 017 (you can find the details here) where an additional ferry trip was announced by the RTA.
After further investigations it appears that this new route will be active after the end of Eid Al Fitr on an ongoing basis.
The new route is a circular trip (ie it departs from and returns to the same station) from the Sheikh Zayed Road Marine Station which is on the Dubai Water Canal.
The trip will last an hour and there will be one ferry taking the trips between 6pm and midnight from that station.
The price for the trip is the same as the other circular trips – 50 dirhams for Silver Class tickets and 75 dirhams for Gold class tickets.
Children under 5 travel free and children over the age of 5 are charged at full adult price. Tickets can be bought from the Sheikh Zayed Road Marine Transport Station ahead of your particular trip.
The round trip will not stop at any other stations and will be a trip that gives you a 1 hour view of Dubai Water Canal.
Check out the Routes page for full details of all of the routes that Dubai Ferry runs.
Once again in 2017 the RTA is offering spectators the chance to watch the traditional dhow race known as Al Gaffal from the Dubai Ferry.
The race takes place on Saturday 13th May 2017 in the waters around the Burj al Arab.
The traditional dhow boat race aims to remind people of the historic past of the UAE and to revive old customs.
Anyone who wishes to watch the race from the Dubai Ferry can contact one of these numbers for tickets: 050 2182767 or 056 2190276.
The RTA have announced service timings for the various means of public transport including the Dubai Ferry, for the holiday of Isra W’al Miraj on 23rd April 2017.
The timings announced by the RTA show that there are no changes to the services that run every day on the ferry.
You can find full details on all of the ferry services here.
They have also announced that public parking in the Emirate will be free on that day (apart from the Fish Market parking and multi storey parking).
Some big changes are coming to the routes for the Dubai Ferry.
A day after the Dubai Canal is due to open at the end of the month, the RTA has announced that there will be additional ferry services using the canal, as well as some changes to existing services.
HE Mattar al Tayer, Director General and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the RTA announced:
“The Dubai Ferry will offer service in five stations, two at the Dubai Water Canal, and three at the Business Bay. There will be three newly scheduled two-way daily services for the Dubai Ferry from Al Jaddaf Station calling at Dubai Design District, Al Wajeha Al Maeyah, and Marasi stations in the Business Bay; and the Sheikh Zayed Road and the Dubai Canal stations in the Dubai Water Canal. The services will start at 10 am, 12 midday and 05:30 pm. The current line of the Dubai Ferry shuttling between Al Ghubaiba Station and Marina Mall Station will be modified to call the Dubai Canal Station. Thus, the Dubai Canal Station will link between Al Ghubaiba, Marina Mall, Business Bay and Al Jaddaf. Due attention has been given to the integration of other transit modes (buses, trains and taxis) in order to provide a smooth and safe service for commuters,” explained Al Tayer.
“The fare of the tourist class of the Dubai Ferry will be AED15 to one station, AED25 to two stations, AED35 to three stations, AED45 to 4 stations, and AED50 over the entire line. The fare of the gold class will be AED25 to one station, AED35 to two stations, AED50 to three stations, AED60 to 4 stations, and AED75 over the entire line. ” added Al Tayer.
