Local Buses, Dubai

Many buses go to the Gold Souk Bus Station which is close to the fish market and just across the road from the gold souk, perfume souk and spice souk. For example the number 4 which starts next to Rashidiya metro station passes by Emirates Station, GGICO Station and through Deira Town Centre before going to Gold Souk Station

We were able to go to a good view point for photographing the Burj Al Arab Hotel, Jumeriah Beach Park and mosque using the number 8A bus which ran between Ibn Battuta Metro Station and the Gold Souk Bus Station. The 88 and 8 also went to the hotel, beach and mosque. The 88 runs between Deira City Centre and Dubai Internet City (on metro line).
The number 47 goes from Rashidiya and Jumeriah Beach Park. The C10 runs from Hamriya Port via Al Karama metro station to Jumeriah Beach Park.

To travel we bought a silver NOL card. it cost 20 diarhams - 6 diarhams was for the card and there was 14 diarams of credit. It could be topped up at metro stations and some bus stations, bus stops. It was more flexible than the red NOL card as we could use it on the metro and on the buses. It could be used on some boat routes, too.
When you enter a bus, you have to place your card on a machine, you must place it there again just before getting off.

Buses had good points and bad points. Good - they are cheap; if you get a seat they are very comfortable; they are air-conditioned; many bus-stops are air-conditioned, too. They are useful to rest in even if you are not waiting for a bus as you can cool down from the searing heat there.
Bad - they are very slow partly because of too much traffic and partly because they go very round-about routes.

I've never tried taking the bus to travel around Dubai. The sights of long queues and buses packed with South Asian workers did not really appeal to me. This is a cheap mode of travelling but the service is extremely poor with complaints of waiting for more than an hour for a bus. This is especially the case on weekends when the number of buses on the road is reduce (which is weird since many people like to come out on Fridays!). My advice is, avoid using the bus service for travelling if you can or unless you've a very tight budget. Take the taxi, it's pricey but safe, comfortable and fast.

The public buses in Dubai are a convenient , fast and cheap way to going around the city.
Buses run on scheduled route, and cover almost the whole big city and its outward extentions off-the Sheikh Zayed Highway . Buses run to and from the airport as well.
Get a local bus network map from Al Gubeyba bus station in Bur Dubai district in Dubai, or simply download it from the internet website listed in here.

http://vgn.dm.gov.ae/DMEGOV/dm-mp-transportmap

It's easty to use and very safe.

The bus system is the cheapest way of travelling around Dubai. Just to try it out, I used them a few times. The only positive point is the quality of the busses, ie they are using air-conditioned Mercedes busses.

But:

- The stops are difficult to find and reach and sometimes there is no indication on the street that there is a bus stop here.
- The schedules mentioned on their website and/or on the bus stations are far from beeing accurate, since the busses are almost always late.
- The intervals between busses are too long which causes overcrowded busses especially during rush hours.
- The drivers are usually unfriendly and stressed. (I found one exception though, when the driver was very friendly)
- There are no bus lanes, so you are stuck in the traffic jam like everyone else.

Travelling by bus is much cheaper than taxi. Bus stop is spread out everywhere, especially in the prime location.

The bus is usually every 15 minutes and there is schedule in every bus stop.
The schedule will be different on Friday (but you can always check in the schedule)

Usually the bus fare is 2 to 5 Dirhams, depend on the destination. Once you step in to the bus, you need to pay to the driver. Please always bring small change. It will be good if you can always bring coins with you, so you don’t need to wait for your changes.

Women usually are sitting in the front side, while men are in the backside.

You can also purchase the ticket books (and student will have reduction price).
Just check in the Satwa bus station.

The main bus station is in the Gold Souq. From here, you can pick any direction.

you can take a bus from airportport teminal- 401 / 402 airport to burdubai and other to diera.confirm with the driver. from terminal 3 you can enter metro station.more hotels cheaper here in burdubai.feel free to contact for further info- shine123@rediffmail.com
http://www.dubaitraveldesk.com/

Dubai’s public transport system is not as bad as its reputation. For a long time, it was the medium of transport for the poor only with different sections for men and women. In the recent years, the bus system is also attracting more expatriates from different origins, giving public transport a more important role in society. And in one of Dubai’s famous traffic jams, it does not make any difference in which kind of vehicle you are trapped. A metro system is under construction and the first trains are expected to be running in 2009.
But right now, there’s only the bus to rely on. On most routes, the price is 2,00 Dhs (2007). Buses run frequently during daytime and most of the lines go through the central bus terminal near the Gold Souk. Although you won’t find any route maps, the system is easy to use.Just get onto the bus, tell the driver where you want to go to and pay your ticket. Drivers were always friendly and will surely help you finding a connection to the point where you want to get to. And the seperation from men and women seems to be gone…

Ok, everything in Dubai is expensive, including taxis. You will have to pay 20 diram, as a start, to take a taxi from the airport. You can take a public bus for 1.5 dirams. The trouble is that the buses are a bit difficult to use in the sense that you really have to watch out for your stop - definitely talk with the driver and tell him where you want to go. If you miss your stop, you are likely to be stuck on the bus for a long time because of the layout of the city -- long roads, few bus stops and its not too easy to just cross the street and take another bus, if you make a mistake. However, there is good info available on the internet.

One interesting thing is that you will not find any tourists or Emirate people on the bus - they all have private or taxi transport. You will find the guest workers, mostly from Kerala, India or the Manilla. It is definitely worth the experience to see this underside of the flashy city.

The other interesting item about the buses is that women have their own seating, separated from the men, in the front of the bus. Sometimes, men will sit in the women's section, but you should tell the driver since those types are usually there to cause trouble.

02, 02, 06 all go to Deira City Center mall, a popular destination.

After a couple of days in Dubai we discovered that the bus could take us to most places and it was very cheap. One-way tickets were 1,00/1,50 Dhs (0,3/0,45 €). The main bus-stations that we used were Al Ghubaiba (Bur Dubai) and Gold Souk bus station on the Deira side. Get a bus route and figure it out. It must be mentioned that the bus drivers also seem to have the same aggressive driving style that the other drivers have and the bus trips were not always comfortable. But hang on and you’ll be fine. There is also an area in the front of the bus that is reserved for women.

Remember that the traffic can be pretty bad at times and it will often take quite a while to get to the destinations. Sometimes it was in fact a lot faster to walk compared to sitting and waiting on the bus.