The metro: the backbone of the city
The Dubai metro has two lines in service: the Red Line and the Green Line, with 55 stations and almost 90 km of network. It is the first metro in the Persian Gulf: fully automatic, driverless and with air-conditioned stations. In 2024 it carried an average of 755,000 passengers per day.
The Red Line is the one that matters for business: it connects the airport (terminals 1 and 3) with Burj Khalifa / Dubai Mall, Business Bay, the financial district (DIFC), Dubai Marina and the Expo area. The Green Line covers the old town: Deira and Bur Dubai.
The network does not stop there: the Blue Line is under construction (Dubai Creek Harbour, Festival City and the university city) with opening planned for 2029, and in April 2026 a fourth line, the Gold Line, was announced for 2032.
Nol card and zone prices
Public transport fares are calculated by zones: 3 AED (about €0.75) for a one-zone journey, 5 AED for two and 7.5 AED if you cross three or more. The typical Marina-DIFC journey costs 5 AED.
Everything is paid with the Nol card, which works for the metro, RTA buses and the Marina tram. There are four versions: red (paper ticket for occasional trips), silver (the standard rechargeable one), gold (access to the premium carriage) and blue (personalised).
Metro hours are from 5:00 to midnight, extended to 1:00 on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays. In summer, the air conditioning means the door-to-door leg is done by taxi, not walking.
Taxis and apps: the plan B that always works
RTA taxis run on a meter: a flag-down fare of about 5 AED and typical city journeys of 15-25 AED (€4-6). Careem and Uber operate in the city with dynamic pricing, more expensive at peak times.
For an employee's day-to-day, the usual combination is metro for the long leg and taxi for the last stretch. With the heat, it makes sense to budget that expense as a fixed part of the relocation cost.
Car: Salik tolls and parking
Salik is Dubai's automatic toll: 4 AED for crossing each gate, and a journey through the centre can accumulate more than one. Petrol is cheap, but parking in Downtown, Marina or DIFC is around 2-4 AED per hour, and monthly passes are not a bargain either.
Between tolls, parking and the car itself, a vehicle in Dubai easily costs 10,000-15,000 AED a year. If the office is on the metro line, that money adds nothing to the business.
Where to live without a car (and where not to)
If the office is in DIFC, Downtown or Marina, the formula that works is renting next to a Red Line station (Business Bay, JLT or Marina itself) and getting around by metro and taxi. Rent is more expensive, but the total package of housing plus transport pays off compared with a car plus the outskirts.
If the job is in a remote free zone, such as Jebel Ali or Dubai Investment Park, or in an industrial area, a car is almost mandatory: there is no metro and taxis get more expensive at peak times.
The rule companies use for relocation packages is to budget transport according to the office, not the city: two employees in two different districts can have very unequal mobility costs.
