Carrying alcohol, selling nol cards: 21 violations for which you could be fined up to Dh500 on RTA buses in Dubai

Authority recently carried out 40,000 public transport inspections in 6 days; here's a guide to the penalties you could receive

Published: Sat 20 May 2023, 6:21 AM

Updated: Sun 27 Aug 2023, 8:39 PM

By
Web Desk

File photo

[Editor's note: This article was first published in May, and is being re-shared to inform residents about fines on RTA buses]

Dubai's Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) has been scaling up inspections on public transport, monitoring commuters' compliance with rules and regulations.

Recently, the authority carried out as many as 40,000 inspections in just six days and, during this period, it recorded 1,193 violations.

Several commuters were caught dodging bus fares, while some failed to show their nol cards. These are violations punishable by a fine of Dh200, according to RTA guidelines.

Failure to pay fares, however, is just one of 21 violations that can get RTA bus riders fined in Dubai. Sleeping at bus shelters, using an invalid card, and eating at prohibited places, for example, are offences, too.

Here's the full list of violations on public buses and the corresponding penalties:

Violation	Fine
Using public transport modes, facilities and services or entering / exiting fare zones without paying the due fare	Dh200
Failure to present a nol Card upon request	Dh200
Using a third party card	Dh200
Using an expired card	Dh200
Using an invalid card	Dh500
Using a fake card	Dh200
Selling Nol cards without prior permit from the RTA	Dh500
Destroying, sabotaging or tampering with the systems, tools or seats of the public transport modes	Dh200
Spitting, littering, doing any act that may contaminate public transport modes, facilities and services	Dh100
Causing inconvenience to users of public transport modes, facilities and services in any way whatever	Dh200
Smoking inside public transport modes, facilities and services	Dh200
Taking hazardous materials inside public transport modes, facilities and services including weapons, sharp materials or inflammable.	Dh200
Taking alcohol inside public transport modes, facilities and services	Dh200
Selling goods and commodities inside public transport modes, facilities and services or promoting the same through any type of advertisement or propaganda	Dh200
Opening public buses’ door or leaving it open during the movement between stations or during parking	Dh100
Entering or sitting in places allocated for specific people inside the bus. (ex. female areas)	Dh100
Carrying or using materials or equipment which may annoy other passengers or may endanger their safety.	Dh100
Sleeping in passengers bus shelters or in undesignated places	Dh300
Acting in a way that may cause public transport driver to lose attention or obstructing his vision while driving	Dh200
Standing or sitting on part of public transport modes, facilities and services that is not allocated for passengers use	Dh100
Eating and drinking in a prohibited places	Dh100