̈ Seatbelts are compulsory and
it is illegal to use a hand-held
mobile phone while driving.
̈ There’s a zero-tolerance
policy on drinking and driving.
See the boxed text (p176).
̈ never make an offensive
hand gesture to another driver;
it could end in deportation or a
prison sentence.
̈ Tailgating, although common,
is illegal and can result in a fine.
̈ Don’t cross yellow lines.
Local Transport
Dubai’s local public transport
is also operated by the RTA
and consists of the Dubai
metro, buses, water buses
and abras (water taxis)� For
trip planning and general
information, call the 24-hour
hotline on %800 9090 or go
online at www�rta�ae�
abras
Abras are motorised tradi-
tional wooden boats linking
Bur Dubai and Deira across
the Creek on two routes:
route 1 – bur Dubai abra
Station (Map p210) to Deira
old Souq abra Station (Map
p206); daily between 5am and
midnight.
route 2 – Dubai old Souq
abra Station (Map p210) to
al-Sabkha abra Station (Map
p206) around the clock.
Abras leave when full
(around 20 passengers),
which rarely takes more than
a few minutes� The fare is
Dh1 and you pay the driver
halfway across the Creek�
Chartering your own abra
costs Dh100 per hour�
dubai Metro
Dubai’s metro opened in
2010 with the Red Line,
which runs for 52�1km from
near Dubai International
Airport to Jebel Ali past
Dubai Marina, mostly paral-
leling Sheikh Zayed Rd�
A second line, the 22�5km
Green Line, linking the Dubai
Airport Free Zone with Dubai
Healthcare City, opened in
mid-2011� It intersects with
the Red Line at union and
Khalid bin al-Waleed (next
to BurJuman shopping mall)
stations� At each station,
cabs and feeder buses stand
by to take you to your final
destination� Don’t forget
to swipe your Nol (fare)
card (p176) on the latter as
inspectors regularly check
and will issue an on-the-spot
Dh200 fine for ticket evasion�
Trains run roughly every
10 minutes from 6am to
11pm Saturday to Thursday,
and 1pm to midnight on
Fridays� Each train consists
of four standard cars and
one car that’s divided into a
women-only section and a
‘Gold Class’ section where a
double fare buys carpets and
leather seats� Women may
of course travel in any of the
other cars as well�
Fares vary from Dh1� 80 for
stops within a single zone to
Dh5� 80 for stops exceeding
two zones� All metro stations
stock leaflets, in English,
clearly mapping the zones�
Note that if you exit a station
with insufficient credit you
will have to pay the equiva-
lent of a day pass (Dh14)�local buses
rTa (www.rta.ae) operates
local buses on 79 routes
primarily serving the needs
of low-income commuters�
Buses are clean, comfort-
able, air-conditioned and
cheap (Dh2 per ride), but
they’re slow� The first few
rows of seats are generally
reserved for women and
children�
For information and trip
planning check the website�
Free route maps and time-
tables can also be picked up
from major bus stations�Monorail
The elevated, driverless
Palm Jumeirah Monorail
connects the Palm Jumeirah
with Dubai Marina� There are
only two stations: Gateway
Towers near the bottom
of the trunk and the Aqua-
venture Park at the Atlantis
hotel� The 5�45km trip takes
about five minutes and costs
Dh15 (Dh25 round trip)�Water buses
Air-conditioned water buses
travel along four Creek-
crossing routes from 6am to
11pm daily� Routes B1 and B4
operate every 30 minutes,
B2 and B3 at 15-minute
intervals� Tickets are Dh4�MoTorinG MayheMDriving in the united Arab Emirates (uAE) is not for the
faint of heart� Although it’s not as chaotic as in other
parts of the Middle East, drivers tend to cut in front of
you, turn without indicating and view roundabouts as
a lane-less free-for-all� Out on the freeway, driving in
the lane closest to the centre of the road at speeds of
less than 160km/h will invoke some serious headlight
flashing from the latest-model Mercedes trying to
break the Dubai–Abu Dhabi land-speed record�
So it’s no surprise that the uAE has one of the world’s
highest rates of road deaths per capita� Inappropriate
speed and reckless driving are the major causes, as
well as pedestrians crossing against the lights or not at
crossings�
On a more positive note, the situation seems to be
gradually improving with a decline in deaths due to
traffic accidents of around 7�5% in 2010 when com-
pared to the previous year�TransP
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