Dubai: RTA serves 37 million users during Expo 2020

The number of people who used Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) services during the period of Expo 2020 Dubai amounted to 37.3 million, according to recent statistics.

This constitutes 67 per cent of the total usage of transport services at Expo. The number of people who used public transport modes, such as Dubai Metro, public buses, taxis and e-hail rides, reached 26.3 million.

Mattar Al Tayer, Director-General, Chairman of the Board of Executive Directors of RTA, noted that RTA's transit means served 37 per cent of Expo visitors and about 11 million motorists used RTA's parking slots during Expo.

"The integrated infrastructure of road and transportation networks, as well as the master mobility plan developed by RTA in cooperation with strategic partners, was instrumental in facilitating the movement of residents and visitors from Dubai and other emirates to Expo 2020,” said Al Tayer.

Number of journeys

During the world fair, which opened on October 1, 2021, and ended on March 31, 2022, Dubai Metro clocked 8.2 million riders, covering more than 5.7 million kilometres. Public buses, on the other hand, carried 15.5 million riders, spanning more than 7.3 million kilometres.

The four main types of bus services included the Expo Rider Intercity, which had 1 million riders; Expo Rider Dubai, which had 1.4 million riders; Parking Shuttles to the three Expo 2020 Dubai gates clocked 10.2 million riders; and People Mover buses between gates had 2.8 million riders.

Taxi and e-hail ride services, such as Careem and Uber, recorded 2.5 million riders, said Al Tayer.

"RTA managed more than 29,000 parking slots at the site of Expo at several zones," he said. "Eleven million users used RTA's parking services."

To manage parking and ensure a safe and smooth flow of vehicles to and from parking lots, RTA used sophisticated technology. "It included the use of smart messaging signs and the management of parking through a smart system connected to the traffic movement control centre to identify the vacant parking slots at the site. The Call Centre received more than 30,000 calls, and customers' satisfaction rating exceeded 92 per cent,” Al Tayer added.