As part of the National Disinfection Program jointly undertaken by the Ministry of Health and Prevention and the Ministry of Interior to disinfect all public transport means and facilities, the Roads and Transport Authority, RTA, has completed the sterilisation of all 47 Dubai Metro stations, 79 metro trains, 11 tram stations and 11 Dubai Trams.

RTA has also completed the sterilisation of 1,372 buses and work is currently underway on sterilising five bus depots and 17 bus stations. Furthermore, the sterilisation covered the entire fleet of Dubai Taxi, limousines and shared transport (smart rental) operating in Dubai, which exceed 17,000 in number.

Mattar Al Tayer, Director General and Chairman of the Board of Executive Directors of the RTA, said:” The RTA is working to implement the directives of the leadership to ensure maximum levels of prevention and community protection. In cooperation with various stakeholders, RTA has ensured the highest safety and security standards in its efforts to safeguard public transport users.” Al Tayer further said the RTA is working around-the-clock to implement the government’s instructions and follow the guidelines of the Ministry of Health and Prevention and the World Health Organisation, as part of its aim of ensuring the safety of all passengers and reducing the risks of the spread of the virus to zero percent. He hoped the world will safely tide over challenges arising from the pandemic, noting that the UAE has intensified its preventive measures.

All precautionary steps taken by the RTA with regard to Dubai’s public transport are aimed at maintaining the health and wellbeing of all passengers across all modes of transport, including land transport, sea transport, the metro and tram. He noted that since a large number of passengers use public transport in the emirate, exceptional measures and the public’s cooperation are critical to overcome challenges and ensure measures adopted by the country’s institutions and authorities against the pandemic are implemented meticulously.

RTA deployed about 1,000 taxis of Dubai Taxis and franchise companies during the program. All these vehicles have been sterilised.

RTA ceased the Dubai Metro, Dubai Tram and marine transport services during the program period (held from 08:00 pm to 06:00 am on Thursday, Friday and Saturday). During the National Sterilisation days, all public transit means operated normally from 07:00 am to 07:00 pm while taxi services were offered via Careem and Uber apps.

The public bus fleet operated on 13 routes namely: 8, 10, 12, A13, 17, 24, C01, C07, F18, F21, F34, F43 and X23 at a frequency of 30 minutes. These routes served 19 public and private hospitals namely: Rashid Hospital in Oud Metha, Iranian Hospital in Al Wasl, Zulekha Hospital in Al Qusais, Dubai Hospital on Al Khaleej Road Deira, Baraha Hospital in Al Baraha Deira, Latifa Hospital in Al Jadaf NMC Hospital in Al Qusais, American Hospital in Oud Metha, Saudi German Hospital in Al Barsha, and a number of hospitals in Healthcare City including Emirates Speciality Hospital, Dubai Dental Hospital, BR Medical Suites, Sapphire Day Surgery Centre, American Heart Center, Dr Riadh Hospital, Emirates Integra Medical & Surgery Centre, Medclinic City Hospital, and Dr Sulaiman Al Habib Hospital.

RTA called on public transit riders to cooperate with supervisors deployed at stations, metro and tram carriages and drivers of public buses and taxis. Passengers are also urged to use personal protective equipment while riding public buses or moving around public areas.