New to DubaiRTA Dubai explained: the Nol card, the metro and getting around
RTA Dubai (the Roads and Transport Authority) runs the city's public transport: the metro, the tram, buses, water transport and taxis. You pay for most of it with one rechargeable card, the Nol card. You can buy one at any metro station and top it up at a machine, at a ticket office or on your phone.
Below we explain how each part works, which card to pick and the small rules that trip people up in their first few weeks.
What the RTA looks after
The RTA is a government body, and it does a lot more than run trains. Once you start driving, you'll be dealing with it again.
Parking has been split off. In 2023 a Dubai law set up Parkin, a company that took over the planning and running of public parking from the RTA. Road tolls are paid through Salik. If you plan to drive, our cars and driving guides cover licences, tolls and the rest.
- Dubai Metro, Dubai Tram and public buses
- Water transport, including abras (the small wooden boats that cross Dubai Creek)
- Taxis
- Driving licences and vehicle registration
- Some traffic fines (Dubai Police issue others)
- The Nol card itself
How the metro, tram and buses work
Most journeys start on the metro. There are two lines, Red and Green, and the Red Line has a branch out to the old Expo 2020 site. A third line, the Blue Line, is being built and is due to open in September 2029. The trains have no drivers. Trains and stations are both air-conditioned, which you'll be glad of from May to October.
Every train has a Gold Class cabin (quieter and less crowded, with a higher fare) and a cabin just for women and children. Signs on the platform floor show where each one stops. If you sit in the wrong one without the right ticket, you can be fined.
The tram runs along Al Sufouh Road through Dubai Marina and JBR. You can change to the Red Line at DMCC and Sobha Realty stations, and to the Palm Monorail. Buses go where the metro and tram don't, including feeder buses from metro stations into residential areas.
Fares depend on how many zones you travel through. The system works out your fare from where you tap in and where you tap out. So tap your card on the reader every time you get on and every time you get off, on the metro, the tram and the bus. If you skip the tap out, the system can't work out your fare properly.
Which Nol card should you get?
Every Nol card works on the same network. What changes is who can use the card and what comes with it.
Our advice: buy a Silver card on day one so you can get around. Then look at a personal Blue card once you're settled, especially if you qualify for a concession fare (a discount for certain groups, such as students). An anonymous card isn't registered to anyone, so if you lose it, treat whatever was on it as gone.
- Red Ticket: a paper ticket for occasional trips. Fine for visitors, but you'll outgrow it quickly once you live here
- Silver card: plastic and anonymous, so anyone can use it. This is the one most people start with
- Gold card: works like Silver, but lets you ride in Gold Class
- Blue card: a personal card with your details on it. It's the card the RTA uses for concession fares, for example for students. People of determination (the UAE's term for people with disabilities) should ask the RTA what they can get
How to buy a Nol card
A Silver or Gold card takes a few minutes to get. A Blue card takes longer because it's issued in your name.
Put more on the card than one trip needs, so you're not stuck at the gate on the way home.
- Go to the ticket office or a ticket machine at any metro station
- Ask for a Silver or Gold card
- Pay, and put some credit on it while you're there
- For a Blue card, look up the current steps and documents in the RTA Dubai app or on the RTA website. Have your Emirates ID ready
How to top up
There are more ways to top up than most people expect.
One habit worth getting into: top up before you reach the station, not while you're standing at the gate with a train pulling in.
- Ticket machines at metro stations
- Ticket office counters at metro stations
- The Nol Pay app, the RTA's app for managing your card
- The RTA Dubai app, using your card number
Rules that catch newcomers out
The metro is spotless because the rules are enforced. Inspectors check tickets and behaviour, and the fines are real.
If you do get a fine, our guide on how to check and pay fines shows you what to do.
- Read the signs at the gates. They list what isn't allowed once you're through, so treat them as rules, not suggestions
- Only sit in Gold Class if you have a Gold card or a Gold Class ticket
- The women and children cabin is just for women and children. Men will be asked to move and can be fined
- Tap in and tap out on every journey
Apps that make it easier
Three free apps cover most of what you need. The RTA Dubai app handles Nol top-ups and many other RTA services. S'hail is the RTA's journey planner, and you can book taxis through it too. Nol Pay lets you top up and manage your card. On some Android phones (Gulf News named Samsung and Huawei) it can also turn the phone into your Nol card. Gulf News also reported that Nol cards can't go in Apple Wallet, so check what works on your phone before you leave the physical card at home.
Ride-hailing apps work here as well. We cover them, along with the other apps newcomers download in their first week, in apps you need when you live in Dubai.
If you live in Sharjah or another emirate
The Nol card belongs to Dubai's system. Other emirates run their own public transport, so don't assume your Nol card will work on their local buses. Check with the transport authority in that emirate first.
Lots of people live in Sharjah and work in Dubai. If you're thinking of doing the same, look up the bus routes between the two cities in S'hail, and check how you pay for them. Before you sign a lease on that basis, do the trip once at rush hour and see how it feels.
Rules change here, so check before you rely on them
Fares, zones, card types and apps change in Dubai more often than you'd expect. Friends who've lived here for years are a good place to start, and they'll know shortcuts no guide can give you.
Just don't treat what they say as the last word. Something that was true two years ago might not be true now. Get a second opinion, and check the RTA Dubai app or the RTA website before you rely on anything important.
Where to go next
Getting around is just one part of daily life here. Our everyday life guides cover apps, delivery, public holidays and more, so that's a good place to keep reading.