Dubai Metro Fines

Every Dubai Metro fine in one table

RTA groups its penalties into fare offences, conduct offences and a handful of serious ones with much larger amounts. Inspectors work the trains and the gate lines in plain clothes as well as uniform, and they check most often at the busiest stations, which in 2025 meant BurJuman on 17.8 million riders, Al Rigga on 13.8 million and Union on 13.6 million.

Amounts are fixed rather than discretionary. A fine sits on top of the fare you owe, so a AED 200 charge for riding without a valid card does not cover the trip itself.

Fare and NOL card fines

Five offences carry AED 200 each and all of them concern the card: travel without a valid fare, failure to show a card to an inspector, use of somebody else's card, use of an expired or invalid card, and unauthorised sale of NOL cards. A counterfeit card is AED 500.

The trap in that list is the expired card. A Silver card runs 5 years from purchase, and while the balance stays spendable for 2 years afterwards, the card itself is no longer valid for new credit. The other trap is a card that will not open the exit gate because the balance dropped below what the trip cost.

Keep at least AED 7.50 on the card before you tap in, which is the minimum RTA requires to open the entry gate anyway. The minimum balance rules cover the exceptions, and the top up guide lists which channels credit the card instantly.

Eating, smoking and other conduct fines

Six offences carry AED 100: food or drink in a station or on a train, sitting in a reserved area, feet on seats, entry to restricted areas, animals other than guide dogs, and misuse of lifts or escalators. The food rule catches visitors most often, and it applies from the moment you pass the gate line, not just on the train.

A further group carries AED 200: selling goods or services, refusing an inspector, spitting or littering, and smoking, which includes vaping. Sleep in a station or a shelter and the penalty is AED 300. Alcohol carried or consumed on the network is AED 500, which matters for anyone heading home from a licensed venue with a bottle in a bag.

At the top end, hazardous items or weapons cost AED 1,000 and vandalism or misuse of emergency equipment AED 2,000. The reserved area fine is worth repeating because it is easy to trigger by accident: Gold Class and the Women and Children cabin are both reserved, and the fine is AED 100 either way.

What happens if you forget to tap out

RTA publishes no figure for a missed check out, and we will not invent one. Third party sites variously claim that the maximum tier fare is deducted or that a fixed penalty applies, and neither claim appears in RTA's own material. What is documented is the AED 200 fine for travelling without a valid fare, which is a different situation.

The practical advice is unchanged either way. Tap out at the gate every time, even where a gate is open or an attendant waves you past, and keep enough credit on the card that the exit tap succeeds. A failed exit tap is what turns a normal trip into a problem at the next entry.

If a deduction looks wrong, the transaction history on a registered or Blue Personal card shows every tap with its time and station, which is the evidence you need to raise it with RTA on 800 9090.

There is one documented trick for a tap that went wrong at the start of a trip. RTA allows a check in and check out at the same gate within two minutes to activate pending credit without travelling, which also clears an accidental entry. Beyond that window the journey is open and the system will price it when you eventually tap out.

Luggage limits and children travelling alone

Each passenger may carry one large item up to 81 × 58 × 30 cm plus one small item up to 55 × 38 × 20 cm. That is enough for a checked suitcase and a cabin bag, which makes the Red Line workable for an airport run, but a third case or a set of golf clubs is outside the allowance.

Age rules are set out separately. Children under 8 are not allowed to travel alone, ages 8 to 11 need a parental permit, and from 12 upwards a child may travel unaccompanied. Children aged 5 or under ride free and need no card at all.

Neither rule is enforced with a tape measure in normal conditions, but both are enforced at the airport stations when a train is full and a trolley load of bags blocks a door. Anyone moving house or carrying sports equipment should plan a different mode rather than argue the dimensions at Airport Terminal 3 at 07:00.

Metro parking fines

Park and ride at the four metro car parks is free for riders, but overstaying is charged at AED 100 a day. The published offence is worded as Overstaying in metro parking (per day, up to AED 1,000), so a car left for a week can reach a four figure amount.

The lots are at centrepoint with 2,700 spaces, Life Pharmacy with 3,000, e& with 2,300 and Jumeirah Golf Estates with 400. They are meant for a day of travel, not for airport parking, which is the mistake behind most of these fines. The parking rules are set out in full here.

Payment and appeals go through RTA rather than the station. Fines are attached to the card or the vehicle and settled through RTA's channels, and the transaction history on a registered or Blue Personal card is the record that supports a challenge. An anonymous card keeps no history you can retrieve, which is one more reason to register a card you use daily.