Dubai: Public transport commuters in Dubai will soon be able to choose from a wide range of Nol membership plans that will offer up to 47 per cent of discounts on regular fares, the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) has announced.

Adding to the existing monthly and daily passes, RTA has introduced weekly, quarterly and annual packages for both silver and gold classes with effect from November 11.

The additional plans are introduced to mark the launch of Dubai Tram operations, which will also be covered by the RTA’s unified automated fare collection system called Nol.

“Launching the new packages has been undertaken following elaborate field surveys to probe the views and preferences of mass transit users, particularly users of the Dubai Metro which has now exceeded five years of operation. Based on these studies and surveys and in response to the needs of individual and corporate users, a variety of packages have been designed to serve a wide spectrum of public transport users who constitute more than 90 per cent of public transport ridership, thus the move is poised to bringing happiness to people,” said Mattar Al Tayer, Chairman of the Board and Executive Director of the RTA.

The packages offer up to 47 per cent discount for regular commuters and 50 per cent reduction for students, elderly and people dependent on social aid.

Interestingly, the discounted plans for elderly are also available for expatriates above 60 years, contrary to existing plans that were restricted to Emiratis.

As against the existing flat rates of Dh200 and Dh170 on monthly passes for elderly and students respectively, the plan is now zone based and the fare has been reduced, with a single zone pass priced at Dh70, a two zone pass rated Dh115 and a multi-zone card to cost 175.

However, in a first major overhaul of the fare structure since 2011, when Dubai’s geographical areas were reorganised into seven zones ahead of the launch of Green Line of Dubai Metro, RTA has increased the daily fare cap from Dh14 to Dh20 for silver card holders and for gold card holders the daily cap has jumped from Dh28 to Dh40.

Additionally, prices on Nol monthly packages have also increased significantly with a multi-zone silver pass to cost Dh350 as against the existing Dh270.

But, commuters will have an option to save their money by going for a quarterly or annual package, with quarterly multi-zone silver pack costing Dh830 and a same category annual pack available for Dh2,670.

Nol was launched as Dubai’s standard public transport fare collection system ahead of RTA’s launch of Dubai Metro more than five years ago. The system also covers RTA operated public buses and marine transport services, while plans to introduce the system on taxis still haven’t materialised.