Purchase and Renewal of Travel Pass for Public Transport in Dubai

RTA travel pass in Dubai allows you to commute to selected zones, using any of the public transport (except buses), multiple times. This Dubai travel pass by RTA is loaded on your nol card or nol red ticket. 

Let’s find out complete details of RTA travel pass from how to purchase to its renewal and everything in between.

ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA FOR TRAVEL PASS IN DUBAI

Here is a list of those who can benefit from this service in Dubai:

• Red Ticket holders (limited products)
• Anonymous card holders (7-day pass product only)
• Registered nol card holders (all travel pass products) 

Now let’s get to know to apply for RTA travel pass in Dubai.

HOW TO PURCHASE RTA TRAVEL PASS IN DUBAI?

REQUIRED DOCUMENTS

The documents that you need to present to purchase RTA travel pass in Dubai are:

1.       nol Card

2.       Virtual nol Card

SERVICE CHARGES

The service charges for getting your RTA travel pass in Dubai vary according to the region and validity of the pass. 

WAYS TO PURCHASE RTA TRAVEL PASS IN DUBAI

1.      Visiting one of the RTA Public Transport Stations

You can visit one of the public transport stations to purchase RTA travel pass in Dubai. Fortunately, all ticket counters at the tram and Dubai Metro stations facilitate purchasing RTA travel pass and you can get them made from the nearest station. Plus, you can also purchase it from bus stations in Dubai that have ticket vending offices.

We have detailed the process below:

1. Head over to any one of the stations.
2. Request to top up card balance at ticket vending office.
3. Settle the top-up amount
4. Activate your card after around 30 minutes.

While this is a manual process, RTA provides customers with the feasibility to purchase the travel pass through RTA smart app. Therefore, you can also apply for RTA pass online via nol Pay app.

The process goes as follows:

1. Download the nol Pay (Android|iOS) application on your phone
2. Buy a Virtual nol Card
3. Click on “Buy Travel Pass” on the card
4. Pay the cost of your RTA travel pass by credit or debit card
5. Activate your card immediately

The validity of a travel pass varies; it can be 7 days, 30 days, 90 days, or 365 days. You can choose among these validity periods yourself. 

IMPORTANT THINGS TO REMEMBER WHEN PURCHASING RTA TRAVEL PASS

Before we proceed to the next part of the blog, let’s look over some important things to consider when purchasing your RTA travel pass in Dubai.

• Make sure your nol card is personalized or else your travel pass will only be valid from 1 to 7 days.
• You cannot use this travel pass when travelling on buses from one city to another.
• Always remember to specify your intended area of travel to a region when you upload a daily pass on nol card or nol red ticket. The travel pass is limited to certain, designated areas.
• If you want to travel to an area that is outside of what you specified earlier, you will have to pay separate fee.
• You can purchase a 30-,90-, or 365-day travel pass. You must renew it 5 days before the date of expiry of RTA travel pass.
• You can also purchase a 7-day travel pass and renew it 3 days before expiry.
• All customers who hold a 7-,30-,90-, or 365-day travel pass cannot refund the fees of the trip that they took when RTA public transport means are provided for free-of-cost. This free-day will not be added to the validity of their daily travel pass (days).

HOW TO RENEW RTA TRAVEL PASS IN DUBAI?

Now we will explore how to renew the RTA travel pass in Dubai. Before we begin, it is to inform you that you can renew your 7-day travel pass only 3 days before it expires, while all other passes valid for more than 7 days (30, 90, 365) are to be renewed 5 days before the expiry.

Needless to say, all nol cardholders with active travel pass can benefit/avail this service. Here’s how to renew RTA travel pass and what you need: 

REQUIRED DOCUMENTS

You only need your nol card for renewal.

SERVICE CHARGES

The same rule applies. Service charges for renewal of Dubai travel pass RTA vary according to number of zones selected and validity of the pass itself. Here is the list: 

SILVER (AED)

Travel Pass Validity	1 Zone	2 Zones	All Zones
Travel Pass Validity 7 days	1 Zone 50	2 Zones 80	All Zones 110
Travel Pass Validity 30 days	1 Zone 140	2 Zones 230	All Zones 350
Travel Pass Validity 90 days	1 Zone 330	2 Zones 550	All Zones 830
Travel Pass Validity 365 days	1 Zone 1060	2 Zones 1770	All Zones 2670

GOLD (AED)

Travel Pass Validity	1 Zone	2 Zones	All Zones
Travel Pass Validity 7 days	1 Zone 100	2 Zones 160	All Zones 220
Travel Pass Validity 30 days	1 Zone 280	2 Zones 460	All Zones 700
Travel Pass Validity 90 days	1 Zone 660	2 Zones 1100	All Zones 1660
Travel Pass Validity 365 days	1 Zone 2120	2 Zones 3540	All Zones 5340

CONCESSIONS (AED)

Travel Pass Validity	1 Zone	2 Zones	All Zones
Travel Pass Validity 7 days	1 Zone 25	2 Zones 40	All Zones 55
Travel Pass Validity 30 days	1 Zone 70	2 Zones 115	All Zones 175
Travel Pass Validity 90 days	1 Zone 165	2 Zones 275	All Zones 415
Travel Pass Validity 365 days	1 Zone 530	2 Zones 885	All Zones 1335

WAYS TO APPLY FOR RENEWAL OF RTA TRAVEL PASS IN DUBAI

There are many ways you can renew your RTA travel pass in Dubai, which we have detailed below one by one.

USING RTA WEBSITE

1. Visit RTA website and select “Renewal Travel Pass” service
2. Enter the number of your nol Card
3. Specify the travel zone and desired validity of the service
4. Pay/settle the dues using credit/debit card
5. Activate the product on metro gates (check in & out)
6. You have your travel pass renewed

USING VENDING MACHINES AT STATIONS (IF YOU HOLD 7-DAYS TRAVEL PASS)

1. Insert your card on the TVM reader
2. Select the existing product
3. Insert the effective starting date
4. Settle the fees
5. Wait for 10 seconds for the product to be uploaded on the card
6. You have your travel pass renewed

USING PHYSICAL OFFICES ON PUBLIC TRANSPORT STATIONS

1. Give your nol card to the station agent at one of the office
2. Confirm the product zone and validity to the agent
3. Pay the fees
4. Your renewed RTA travel pass in Dubai is ready

USING RTA SMART APP MAHBOUB CHATBOT (WITHOUT RTA ACCOUNT)

1. This method is for customers who do not have RTA account
2. On the chatbot, type “Renew Travel Pass” with nol tag ID (for eg. Renew Travel Pass 0123456)
3. You will receive your travel pass details on the screen
4. Click on “Accept” for the terms and conditions checkbox
5. Complete the payment
6. Activate the Travel Pass using the card on metro gates

USING RTA SMART APP MAHBOUB CHATBOT (WITH RTA ACCOUNT)

This process is for customers who do have an RTA account.

1. Type “Renew Travel Pass”
2. Enter your username
3. Enter the tag ID manually, or simply select the nol card that you want to renew your Travel pass on from the list of cards that show under your account
4. Review your travel pass details on the screen
5. Accept “terms and conditions”
6. Make the payment
7. Activate your travel pass product by using the card on metro gates (check in & out)

IMPORTANT THINGS TO REMEMBER WHEN RENEWING TRAVEL PASS

• You can renew your travel pass of 7 days, 3 days before the expiry date, whereas 5 days before the expiry date for the rest of the cards with varying validity.
• You can renew your Travel Pass product in any metro station or online through the RTA website.
• You can load anonymous nol cards with 7-day travel pass
• You can also renew anonymous nol cards with 7-day travel pass via TVM in metro stations.
• You can only renew the same product type and period.
• Keep in mind that only personal and registered nol cards are eligible for 7, 30, 90, and 365-day travel pass products.

CAN I REQUEST TRAVEL PASS REFUND?

You are eligible for a refund on your RTA travel pass in Dubai based on the following factors.

1. You can get a refund on the remaining days from the Travel pass, given that the cars are faulty, damaged, or lost.
2. The remaining days from the product are calculated after the refund request is submitted.
3. You can only refund the monetary balance and not the days of the remaining Travel Pass validity.

Note: Cash refund service charge applies.

If you don’t prefer getting around using any of the public transport in Dubai, then you can opt to get your own car. You can easily find many used cars in Dubai for sale, all you need to do is carry out comprehensive research and explore available options before purchasing.

Some of the second-hand cars you might consider buying are listed as under:

• Second-hand Audi for sale in Dubai
• Used Mercedez-Benz in Dubai for sale online
• Second-hand Toyota cars for sale online in Dubai
• Used Nissan in Dubai for sale

Stay tuned to UAE’s top auto blog for more information about public transport in Dubai and other Emirates.