Roads and Transport Authority’s Rail Agency has added six fare collection gates to the Business Bay metro station, thus raising the number of entry gates at the station to 10. The step has been taken in response to the growing footfall at the station, which is in line with the sustained growth in demand for the metro service in Dubai fuelled by increasing demographic and urbanisation rates in the emirate.

The move comes at a time when mass transit means in general and Dubai Metro in particular are heading towards an exceptional demand from visitors and tourists especially on the eve of New Year.

Mohammad Yousuf Al Mudharreb, director of Rail Operation, RTA’s Rail Agency, said 506,345 riders used the entry gates at the Business Bay Station last November and 502,572 riders used the exit gates of the station during the same month.

“The high operational efficiency rates recorded by the Dubai Metro had added to the series of achievements made by Dubai emirate. The metro service compliance with the scheduled journey timetables has reached 99 per cent, which is actually quite high. The Dubai Metro, on both the Red and Green lines, had been used by more than 178 million riders in 2015,” said Al Mudharreb.