To access any public transportation in Dubai such as the metro in Dubai or the busses, you will need to purchase a Dubai NOL card. This is an electronic card that is used to access and pay the Dubai Metro fees. You purchase your Nol Card once and then you can easily and unlimited recharge your card at the counter or at one of the many ticket machines in the metro or tram stations. The Nol Card can be used in the bus, metro, tram and water bus in Dubai.
The Nol Red Card can be purchased at all ticket machines and counters in the metro and bus stations. The Silver Card and Gold Card can be purchased at a number of ticket machines, at all manned counters in the metro and bus stations and at the RTA Customer Service Center.
You can recharge the Nol Card at the ticket machines and at the manned counters, you can pay with bills as well as with a pin and credit card. Please note that there must be at least 7.5 AED on your Nol Silver or Nol Gold Card to be able to travel by public transport in Dubai.
Zone System in Dubai
The Nol zonal fare is used for the exact cost of a single journey on public transport in Dubai. There is a fare table that gives you a indication about the price:
- Travel within 1 zone: stands for traveling in the same zone or a journey by public transport
- Travel in 2 adjecent zones: stands for starting in 1 zone and ending in another adjacent zone
- Travel in more than 2 zones: stands for crossing three or more zones
Fare Table
Prices are in dirhams. Please check out the Nol website for more information about the zone fares and the zone map.
| Zones | Silver Card | Gold Card | Personal Card | Red Ticket |
| Within 1 Zone | 3 | 6 | 3 | 4 |
| 2 Adjacent Zones | 5 | 10 | 5 | 6 |
| More than 2 Zones | 7.5 | 15 | 7.5 | 8.5 |
The different types of Nol Cards
There are different types of Nol cards which are explained below.
Nol Red Card
The Nol Red Card is suitable for tourists and travelers who make little use of public transport. Unlike the other Nol cards, the Nol Red Card is not made of plastic, but paper. The cost to purchase a Nol Red card is 2 AED and the card can be charged up to 10 times for a single trip or 5 times for a day pass.
Currently, a Nol Red card can only be used with one type of public transport and the Nol Red Card is valid for 90 days. The Nol Card can be purchased at all ticket machines and at the counter in the metro or bus station. The Nol Red card can only be used in the regular class of the metro and bus.
The advantage of the red Nol card is that you only pay for the trip and do not have a balance left because you have to charge your Nol card with 5 or 10 AED and your trip is only 3 AED. Do you want a day pass for public transport? Then this is only possible with a Nol Red card. The cost for a day pass for public transport that allows you unlimited travel in all forms of public transport in Dubai costs 20 AED for the Silver Class or 40 AED for the Gold Class.
Pay attention! A day pass is not valid in the special 105 busline to the Miracle Garden.
The costs per single journey with the Nol Red card are as follows:
- within 1 zone: 4 AED Regular Class / 8 AED Gold Class
- 2 Adjecent zones: 6 AED Regular Class / 12 AED Gold Class
- more than 2 zones: 8.5 AED Regular Class / 17 AED Gold Class
Nol Silver Card
The Nol Silver card is an anonymous chip card which is ideal for tourists and travelers who regularly use public transport in Dubai (Metro, tram, bus, water bus and parking). A Nol Silver card is valid for 5 years after purchase, can be charged up to a maximum of 5000 AED and is valid on all forms of public transport. To purchase a Nol Silver card you have to pay 25 AED, of which you will receive 19 AED in the form of a balance on the card. The Nol Silver card can only be used in the regular class of the metro, tram and bus.
The costs per one-way trip are slightly lower with the Silver card than with the Nol Red card:
- within 1 zone: 3 AED
- 2 Adjecent zones: 5 AED
- more than 2 zones: 7.5 AED
Nol Gold Card
The Nol Gold card is the same as the Nol Silver card with one difference, that is that you can travel with a Nol Gold card in the Gold class of the metro, tram and bus.
The costs per single journey with the Gold card are different from those with the Silver card:
- within 1 zone: 6 AED
- 2 Adjecent zones: 10 AED
- more than 2 zones: 15 AED
Nol Blue Card
The Nol Blue card is a personal Nol card which is intended for the daily traveler and is provided with extra security. The Nol Blue card is the only card on which a passport photo of the owner can be seen.
With a Nol Blue card it is possible to take out a 7 day, 300 day, 90 day or 365 day subscription so that you never have to recharge your card. The cost to purchase a Nol Blue card is 70 AED with a 20 AED balance on your card.
The costs per single journey with the Blue card are the same as with the Silver card:
- within 1 zone: 3 AED
- 2 Adjecent zones: 5 AED
- more than 2 zones: 7,5 AED
Plan your trip in Dubai
Do you want to plan a route in Dubai with the metro or bus? Then you can use the Wojhati website or app. This is the official route planner app of the RTA. RTA is the organization that arranges all public transport in Dubai. With the Wojhati Journey Planner app you can easily and quickly plan your route from A to B.
The download links of the various app stores such as the Apple App store or the Google Play for Android phones can be found on this page. Click on one of the icons of your operating system to download the app via the marketplace.
