Public transport fare calculator
Dubai Metro, tram and bus by fare zone and card class, or Abu Dhabi buses by distance. Enter your trips and see the cost per trip, week and month, and whether a pass is cheaper.
Dubai is split into 7 fare zones. Zone borders are on the network map at stations and on the RTA website.
In km, for the whole journey, transfers included. Intercity buses are priced separately.
Count each one-way journey as a trip: home to work and back is 2. Changing between metro, tram and bus inside one journey counts as one trip.
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Compare with other ways to get there
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How the fares work
Metro, tram and RTA buses share one nol fare. You pay by how many of the 7 zones your trip touches: within 1 zone, 2 next-door zones, or more than 2. Tap in and tap out every time, or you can be charged the highest fare.
A Gold card pays twice the Silver fare. RTA says the Gold surcharge applies on the metro and tram only, so a bus trip on a Gold card may cost less: check your own receipts.
On a personal nol card: students and senior citizens pay 50%, and so do some social support beneficiaries. People of determination travel free. Children aged 5 and under travel free on any card.
City and suburban buses cost AED 2 to board plus 5 fils per km, up to AED 5 for a journey over 60 km. Change buses within 60 minutes of tapping out and you don't pay the AED 2 again (up to 2 changes, 3 buses, not back the way you came). Tap your Hafilat card on and off every bus.
Children aged 10 and under ride free. Senior citizens and people of determination can get a free annual permit, and students an annual permit for AED 500. Families on qualifying social support programmes pay AED 80 for a 30-day pass.
Intercity buses (for example Dubai to Sharjah, Ajman or Abu Dhabi) have their own fares and are not part of these sums or passes. Check with the authority that runs the route before you travel.
Last checked: 27 Oct 2026
Sources: RTA, "nol fares" page (rta.ae): single-trip fares by card and zone, 7, 30, 90 and 365-day passes, Gold surcharge on metro and tram only, and discounts for students, senior citizens, people of determination and young children. RTA, Etihad Rail one-day pass page (valid to midnight on the day of first tap; price not shown). The one-day pass price of AED 20 Silver / AED 40 Gold is as reported by Property Finder (March 2026), and Emirates 24|7 (October 2026) reports AED 22 when added to an Etihad Rail booking: we could not confirm it on an official page, so check with RTA. Abu Dhabi Mobility (formerly ITC), "Tariffs for public bus services" (26 February 2024) and the Hafilat public bus fees page (admobility.gov.ae): AED 2 + 5 fils per km, AED 5 maximum, transfer rules, 7-day pass AED 30, 30-day pass AED 95, discounts. Hafilat card price and intercity fares: check with Abu Dhabi Mobility. A month is counted as 52 ÷ 12 weeks. This is an estimate, not a quote.