Loving the Abu Dhabi Bus Service

Most expats, if not all, had the same reason for leaving our mother land and braving the steps to move into another country - that is to earn more.  My husband and I are both employed, but job stability has always been a question here in the UAE especially now that the government is really serious in the country's Emiratization plan.  We are taking advantage of the opportunity that we have and are saving for our kids' futures to the best of our ability.

Photo credits to Visitabudhabi.ae

There are many ways to save with the fast paced lifestyle here in the UAE.  One way is to use public transportation rather than taxi services.  I know that taxis are far more convenient than buses.  One doesn't have to wait forever for taxis to come compared with the never ending waiting game with the buses.  With taxis, one doesn't have to spend almost 30 minutes for what was supposed to be a 10-minute ride.  However, don't you know that by using public transportation, you could save some hundreds of dirhams a month.

I live in the Corniche area and I use the bus to go home from work.  Going to work is no problem for me since my husband gives me a ride.

Let's do the math here:

My taxi fare from Karama to Corniche is around AED 10 to 12 depending on traffic.

I work 5 days a week, four weeks a month and that would equate to:

AED 10 x 5 days x 4 weeks = AED 200 per month

If I use the bus, I only have to pay AED2 plus a few minutes of walking.  Putting this to a Mathematical problem, that would be:

AED 2 x 5 days x 4 weeks = AED 40 per month

The difference might not look sooo big at only AED 160 per month, but multiply AED 160 to twelve months, and that would give you AED 1920 worth of savings for one year.

Just imagine if one would commute two times a day, that would automatically rip off AED 400 per month or AED 4800 a year just for transportation.

Aside from the reasons stated above, I think most of us here do not know which bus to take if we want to go to a certain place, so I visited Department of Transportation's website and put into a table the places/landmarks with the corresponding bus numbers:

DESTINATION	BUS NUMBER
Abella Supermarket	5, 34
Abu Dhabi Courts	34, 52
Airport	A1, 170
Al Bateen (Bainunah)	8, 9 , 10, 11
Al Maryah Island	5, 40, 52
Al Mina Souq	9, 56
Al Muhairy Center	7, 8, 32, 34
Al Wahda Bus Station	11, 32, 34, 52, 54, 56
City Terminal (AUH Mall)	5, 7, 8, 9, 11, 40, 44, 52
Corniche Road (Family Beach)	34, 63
Fish Market	8, 54
Hamdan Street	5, 54
Ikea, Ferrari World, Yas Water World	195
Immigration Dept/St. Joseph’s Church	44
Khalidiya Garden	5, 7, 32, 40
Khalidiya Mall	8
Khalifa Park	56
Khalifa Street	40, 63
Madinat Zayed Shopping Center	32, 52, 56
Marina Mall	5, 7, 9, 11, 32, 34, 63
Masdar City	163
Mina Fishermen Association	11, 44
Mina ISC	10
New Airport Road	34, 54
Officer’s Club	44
Petroleum Institute	54
Ras Al Akhdar	10, 34
Reem Island	7, 63
Spinney’s Khalidiyah	5, 7, 11, 32
Souk Qaryat Al Berri	32
Tourist Club Mina Road	8, 9 , 10, 11, 44, 54, 56
Yas Island Hotels	170, 180, 185
Zayed Mosque	54, R
Zayed Sports City	32, 34, 44, 52, 54

I hope this information is helpful.  There are also maps available in the website for a more detailed bus route. I know that most women, including me, can't read maps, so just in case you need help just call the DOT's help desk at 800-88888.

For those who do not want to bother looking for coins for the bus fare, there are Ojra cards available. A weekly pass costs AED30 and a monthly pass costs AED80.  Senior citizens and persons with disability can avail of the bus services for free.

More information is available here.