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The nol card explained, and what a Metro journey actually costs
Dubai runs on a single card for the Metro, the tram, the buses and the water buses. The confusing part is not the card, it is that the fare depends on zones rather than on how far you actually go.
Zones, not distance
Dubai is divided into seven fare zones, and what you pay depends on how many of them your journey crosses. Not the number of stations, not the minutes, not the kilometres. Two long journeys inside one zone cost the same as each other and less than one short hop across a boundary.
That is the single thing worth understanding before you top up, because it is the reason two people can travel what looks like a similar distance and pay different fares.
The cards
| Card | What it is for |
|---|---|
| Red Ticket | A paper ticket for single trips, bought per journey |
| Silver | The standard reloadable card, and the one most visitors want |
| Gold | Same card, gold class cabin on the Metro and tram, double fare |
| Blue (Personal) | A registered personal card carrying concessions |
The Silver card is the default answer. It is reloadable, and it can be registered with the RTA so the balance is protected if you lose it.
The Blue card is the one that carries the discounts, and it has to be personal to you: students, senior Emiratis and citizens, and people registered with Social Affairs get 50 per cent off, and people of determination travel free. Those concessions apply on the Personal card only, so they cannot be had on a Silver card however you qualify.
Children aged five and under travel free on every card type.
The fares
Published by the RTA, in dirhams.
| Journey | Red Ticket | Silver | Gold | Personal (Blue) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Within 1 zone | 4 | 3 | 6 | 3 |
| 2 adjacent zones | 6 | 5 | 10 | 5 |
| More than 2 zones | 8.50 | 7.50 | 15 | 7.50 |
Two things fall out of that table. The Red Ticket costs about a dirham more per journey than the Silver card for the same trip, so the card pays for itself quickly if you are making more than a couple of journeys. And Gold is exactly double throughout, which is the clearest pricing on the whole system: you are paying for the cabin, not for a faster train.
The gold surcharge applies on the Metro and tram only. On a bus there is no gold class to pay for.
The one that catches people out. You tap in and tap out. The fare is calculated from both taps, so failing to tap out at the end of a journey does not save you money, it charges you the maximum. It is the most common way a visitor loses money on the system.
Passes, if you are staying a while
The RTA also sells travel passes. A seven day Silver pass runs from 50 to 110 dirhams depending on how many zones it covers, and the Gold equivalent from 100 to 220. Student and senior Emirati passes run from 25 to 55.
Whether a pass beats paying per journey is simple arithmetic once you know your zones: a seven day Silver pass at the bottom of that range is roughly seventeen single-zone journeys, so it is worth it if you are travelling more than about twice a day.
What the card also does
The nol card is not only for public transport. It is accepted for taxis, RTA paid parking, the Nakheel Monorail, marine transport and in some retail shops, which is why residents keep one topped up even when they mostly drive.
Fares and card types from the RTA nol fare table and its guide to nol cards, read on 26 September 2026. Fares are set by the RTA and change; check the table before you rely on a figure here.
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