Over half of respondents to a new poll believe the announced fares for the Dubai Metro are intelligently priced, but a more skeptical one-third believe the price may be too high to make it a true mass transportation system.
A single journey on the metro, due to launch in September, will cost 2 dirhams ($0.54) if under 3 km. A single journey between two zones will be 4.50 dirhams and for three or more zones will cost 6.50 dirhams. A one-way ticket within a single zone will cost 2.50 dirhams.
In total 52 percent of respondents to the poll on Maktoob Business said the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) had got prices spot on and that the tariffs were "enlightened", "inspired" and "intelligent".
Maktoob Business user Hassan Lalla commented on the site that the metro "will likely become a tourist destination, may become a source of enjoyment for the local public on holidays and most importantly a facility for the working population of Dubai".
"The fares listed are quite reasonable and affordable," she said.
While over half of respondents were positive about the pricing, one quarter of them also expressed fears prices would soon rise as soon as additional lines were added.
The $4 billion project has gone "billions of dirhams over budget", according to Mattar al-Tayer, chairman of the RTA, and the transports authority said it wants to recoup up to half of that cost by 2014.
The Dubai Metro is scheduled to launch the first of two lines on Sept. 9. The 52 km red line will run from Jebel Ali to Rashidiya with 35 stations. The 20 km green line is scheduled to come online in March 2010 and will have 22 stations, running from Festival City through the city centre to Dubai airport.
Just over one-third (34 percent) thought the announced fares were too expensive, and would act as an obstacle for the RTA to achieve its plans to carry 200 million passengers per year.
"I wonder how they have estimated that frequency," commented A.J. on Maktoob Business. "That seems to be very high."
He added: "More than 50 percent of people travel from other emirates, and are in the construction industry. Having that in mind, and given the current economic crisis, it would be difficult to predict the amount of passengers/year."