Dubai RTA experiences 8% growth in taxi ridership

Credit: Roads and Transport Authority

Dubai’s taxi sector has experienced substantial growth in 2023, clocking about 114 million trips, lifting in the process around 198.4 million passengers throughout the year. This annual trip count is the highest tally recorded over the past 15 years.

Highlighting the taxi sector’s achievement, Adel Shakri, Director of Planning and Business Development, Public Transport Agency, at the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA), said: “The annual growth rate in taxi trips from 2022 to 2023 was as much as 8%, which underscores the sector’s key role in Dubai’s public transport network. October 2023 saw an unprecedented surge, with taxi trips hitting 10 million. Known for their vast coverage, Dubai taxis traverse over 500km on average every 24 hours.”

Shakri was delighted with this massive growth in taxi trips, attributing it to the profound trust placed by residents, tourists and visitors in the taxi services run under the auspices of RTA. 

In 2023, 1,160 taxis were deployed to increase the size of the city’s taxi fleet, raising the total to approximately 12,532 vehicles. Notably, 10,388 of these taxis are environmentally friendly – comprising a mix of hybrid and electric vehicles – accounting for 83% of the entire fleet. These taxis are operated by 27,900 drivers working in two shifts.

The e-hail taxi service (Hala Taxi) reported a significant uptick, with 39.8 million trips made in 2023, marking a 27% growth from 2022. This surge underscores the extensive and rapid shift in consumer behaviour, from traditional street hails to electronic bookings, over the year.

Furthermore, the efficiency of Hala’s service saw notable improvement, with the average Actual Arrival Time for electronically booked taxis reaching customers in Dubai dropping to 3.6 minutes in 2023, an improvement from the 3.9 minutes recorded in 2022.