Once again, the RTA has announced that there will be special Dubai Ferry services for New Year’s Eve this year. The trips will run from 3 marine transport stations and will cost 300 dirhams for silver class and 450 dirhams for the gold class tickets. For full details of when they run and how to get tickets please see below: Continue reading Ferry Services for New Year’s Eve 2020/21
The Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) announced an update to the timings of its services during the 49th National Day and the Commemoration Day holiday. The revised service timing cover customer happiness centres, paid parking zones, public buses, metro, tram, marine transport, and service provider centres (technical testing of vehicles). RTA also requested the public to necessarily abiding by Coronavirus precautions.
The Service Provider Centres will close from Tuesday, 1st December to Thursday 3rd December 2020, and resume business on Saturday, 5th December 2020. Customer Happiness Centres will close from Tuesday, 1st December to Thursday, 3rd December 2020, and resume business on Sunday, 6th December 2020. The Smart Customer Happiness Centres at Umm Al Ramool, Deira, Al-Barsha, and RTA Head Office will continue operation 24/7 hours as usual.
During the holiday, the Red Line of Dubai Metro will operate from 05:00 am to 01:00 am (of the following day), the Green Line of Dubai Metro will operate from 05:30 am to 01:00 am (of the following day), and the Dubai Tram will operate from 06:00 am to 01:00 am (of the following day).
The Public Buses (Dubai Bus) timings will only be for Tuesday, 1st December to Wednesday, 2nd December as follows: Main Stations (including Gold Souq Station) will operate from 04:25 am to 00:29 am (past midnight). Al-Ghubaiba Station from 04:14 am to 00:58 am (past midnight). Sub-stations (including Satwa Station) will start from 04:45 am to 11:00 pm except for Route C01 which will be operating around-the-clock from Satwa. Al-Qusais Station from 04:31 am to 00:08 am (past midnight). Al Quoz Industrial Station from 05:05 am to 11:35 pm, and Jebel Ali Station from 04:58 am to 11:30 pm.
The Metro Link Bus Service at Rashidiya, Mall of the Emirates, Ibn Battuta, Dubai Mall/Burj Khalifa, Abu Hail, and Etisalat will be in service from 05:00 am to 01:10 am (of the following day). (Note: The timing of all Metro Link services is synchronised with the metro timetables.
The Inter-city Bus and Commercial Coaches will be operating as follows: Subsidiary stations, such as the Union Square, from 04:25 am to 11:00 pm, Etisalat Metro Station from 05:00 am to 11:00 pm, and Abu Hail Metro Station from 06:00 am to 11:00 pm. The timing of External Stations will be as follows: Jubail at Sharjah from 05:30 am to 11:30 pm, Hatta from 05:30 am to 09:30 pm, and Ajman from 05:15 am to 11:00 pm.
The Marine Transport will operate as follows: The Water Bus will operate at Marina Stations (Marina Mall, Marina Walk, Marina Terrace, Marina Promenade) from 12:00 (noon) up to 00:00 (midnight).
The Traditional Abra will operate during the holiday as follows: (Dubai Old Souq – Baniyas) and (Al Seef – Baniyas) from 10:00 am to 1:00 am (of the following day). (Sheikh Zayed Road stations in both directions), (Dubai Old Souq-Baniyas, Deira Old Souq- Sabkha-Al Fahidi-Al Seef in both directions) from 04:00 pm to 11:00 pm, (Old Deira Souq-Sabkha-Al Fahidi) from 10:00 am to 12:30 am (past midnight), and Jadaf-Dubai Festival Mall from 08:00 am to 00:00 (midnight).
The Ferry will run service as follows: (Al Ghubaiba-Dubai Water Canal-Dubai Marina Mall): at 11.00 am, 01:00 pm and 06:30 pm. Marina Mall Station (both directions): at 05:00 pm, and Al Ghubaiba Station (both directions): at 05:00 pm, Dubai Water Canal Station to Dubai Marina Mall at 01:50 pm and 07:20 pm, and Dubai Water Canal Station to Al Ghubaiba Station at 02:05 pm and 07:35 pm.
All public parking areas in Dubai, except for multi-level parking terminals, will be for free during the holiday (Tuesday, 1st December to Thursday 3rd December 2020).
The RTA has announced, and posted on social media, that marine transport services will be suspended for a month with effect from 29th March 2020.
This is to keep in line with their values of trying to keep everyone safe and well and to minimise the spread of the coronavirus.
All modes of RTA #MarineTransport will be suspended for one month effective today (extendable), in line with the duty of care measures being adopted for your safety. #YourSafetyOurPriority pic.twitter.com/h7vZumAKhn
— RTA (@rta_dubai) March 29, 2020
The announcement includes the suspension of abras, ferries and water taxis until 30th April, at which point this will be reviewed in light of the situation at that time.
This comes on the back of a major sterilisation program for the Dubai Metro and Tram which means that there is a curfew time for those transport services to enable a full clean before opening up the next day.
Members of the public are urged to stay at home as much as possible to keep safe and if they need to go out, to wear personal protective equipment.
ستتوقف كافة خدمات #النقل_البحري التابعة للهيئة ابتداء من اليوم ولمدة شهر قابلة للتجديد، في إطار الإجراءات الوقائية والاستباقية التي تتبعها الهيئة من أجل المحافظة على سلامتكم. #سلامتكم_أولويتنا #خلك_في_البيت pic.twitter.com/KZMWdbeU2x
— RTA (@rta_dubai) March 29, 2020
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.
HE Mattar Al Tayer, Director-General and Chairman of the Board of Executive Directors of Roads and Transport Authority (RTA), has opened the smart floating marine transport station at Dubai Festival City; the first floating station in the UAE. The station, which accommodates more than 25 passengers, contributes to the integration of marine transit modes by linking Jadaf-Dubai Festival City line with public buses and Creek Metro Station.
Abra service will be running every 10 minutes between Dubai Festival City and Jadaf Stations daily from 07:00 am up to 00:00 am (midnight) at a fare of two dirhams.
Al Tayer toured Dubai Festival City Station which has witnessed a considerable rise in the number of visitors from 42,863 riders in 2016 to 187,000 riders in 2017. The numbers continued the upward trend in 2018 recording a 24% increase to hit 245,000 riders.
Featuring a design inspired by marine habitats, the station is in harmony with green buildings standards and is connected with a pier and shaded outdoor areas. It is also open for future expansions and relocatable as well. The building provides spaces dedicated to people of determination and top security and safety standards. It has ticket sale service facilities and waiting places overlooking Dubai Creek. The station is capable of accommodating various marine transit means comprising the ferry, water bus, water taxi, traditional abra and air-conditioned abra. Its location is in close proximity to Jadaf Marine Transport Station, Dubai Metro Creek Station, and the public bus station on the opposite side of Dubai Creek.
Full text on the RTA website.
The RTA have announced the timings for the marine transport services during Ramadan and they are as follows:
The timing of marine transit services during Ramadan will be as follows: The Water Bus will operate at Marina Stations (Marina Mall, Marina Walk, Marina Terrace, Marina Promenade) from 12:00 (at noon) up to 00:00 (midnight). On Friday from 01:00 pm to 01:00 am (of the following day). At the Dubai Water Canal, the Water Bus will operate from 09:00 am to 5:00 pm and from 9:30 pm to 12:30 am (past midnight).
Dubai Ferry will be calling at Ghubaiba and Marina Stations (interchange journeys) at 11:00 am, and 05:30 pm. At Dubai Marina Station it will operate (round journey) at 05:00 pm and 10:00 pm.
So this means that the trips between the Marina and Al Ghubaiba will change in the evening to run at 5.30pm instead of 6.30pm and the lunchtime sailing at 1pm will not run during Ramadan.
The round trip at 3pm will not run during Ramadan and there will be an extra round trip at 10pm from the Marina.
It appears from the RTA announcement that no round trips will run from Al Ghubaiba during Ramadan.
We have also been advised that the service running between the Marina and Dubai Mall will not run during Ramadan.
If you are in any doubt about whether any trips are running then you should call the RTA on 800 9090 or visit the Marine transport station from which you wish to depart and they should be able to advise you of specifics.
Ramadan 2019 in Dubai is likely to run from Sunday May 5th to Tuesday June 4th, although final dates will be confirmed nearer the time corresponding to the sighting of the moon.
In addition to the ferry services that are now running at Dubai Water Canal, the RTA has announced that there will be a 3 month trial of a new abra service.
For more information check out the Dubai Abra website.
You can find the full details of the ferry services that run along the Dubai Water Canal on the Routes/Timings page including location maps of the new Marine Transport Stations.
So you can now choose from the ferry, the water taxi and the abra to take a trip along the Dubai Water Canal.