Dubai’s New Bus Routes: What the 17 July 2026 Changes Connected

Three July 2026 changes are worth checking before you travel. Route 67 moved from Al Ghubaiba to Oud Metha Bus Station. Routes 36A and 36B lost their International City–Dubai Silicon Oasis sections, and RTA pointed riders to 37A and 37B. Route 85 linked Al Khail Gate in Al Quoz with Dubai Internet City Metro. Use the RTA Journey Planner to check your boarding stop, direction and departure time.

RTA announced four new services and changes to 13 existing routes on 14 July, with 17 July 2026 as the effective date. This edition explains that network change and how to rebuild a trip around it. The published launch headways below describe peak periods in the announcement. Use RTA’s current planner to confirm the exact boarding stop and departure on your travel date. Sources were checked on 6 November 2026. RTA’s 14 July route announcement.

The four services RTA added

These figures describe the planned gap between buses during peak periods at launch. They do not give the time a bus reaches a particular stop. For a commute with a fixed start time, look up the departure at the stop you can actually reach and check the next one as well. If you are returning after the peak, search at the return time instead of carrying the morning interval over to the evening.

International City, Dubai Silicon Oasis and Academic City

Route 35 adds a link between International City and Dubai Silicon Oasis. Routes 37A and 37B link International City and Dubai Silicon Oasis Lake in opposite directions. RTA removed the sections of 36A and 36B between International City and Dubai Silicon Oasis and identified the new 37A and 37B as options for passengers heading to Academic City or Silicon Oasis. That makes this a change to both new and existing services. Look up the whole trip if your previous ride used one of the removed sections.

Start at the destination entrance. If you are heading to a campus, use the building or gate you need. If you are going to the lake, search the lake stop and the direction separately for each leg. Route 37A is the direction from International City to the lake in the announcement, while 37B is the direction back. Saving both searches can prevent a familiar number on the outward journey from sending you to the wrong departure on the way home.

Suppose your earlier 36A journey brought you close to the building where you work. Compare where the current route ends with the boarding point for the alternative. A journey that used to need one vehicle may now need a change. If the planner instead offers Route 35 from a stop you can walk to, compare its destination walk with the 37A or 37B itinerary. A route that serves the same district can still leave you at a different part of it.

Al Khail Gate, Dubai Internet City and the end of Route 84

Route 85 links Al Khail Gate in Al Quoz with Dubai Internet City Metro station. RTA announced it in the same package that changed Route 84’s endpoint from Mall of the Emirates to InsuranceMarket Bus Stop on the south side. It pointed passengers travelling between Dubai Marina and Al Quoz towards Route 85. If you are coming from Dubai Marina, check whether the itinerary uses the Metro to get to Dubai Internet City before the bus. The announcement names Dubai Internet City Metro as the Route 85 connection.

For someone whose destination is Mall of the Emirates, the useful change to remember is where Route 84 now ends. If you plan to continue by Metro from InsuranceMarket, verify the walk from the south-side bus stop and check the direction of the next train. If your starting address instead suits Route 85, compare the full route via Dubai Internet City. Neither station name tells you how much time you need to get between a bus bay and the train platform. RTA Metro station map.

Oud Metha and ONPASSIVE became more important connections

RTA rerouted Route 67 to Oud Metha Bus Station in place of Al Ghubaiba Bus Station. It points riders continuing to Bur Dubai to the Metro Green Line. If you used to meet someone at Al Ghubaiba, ask whether the new meeting point should be Oud Metha or the original destination. A separate Green Line journey can help you continue, but the walk from your arrival stop to the rail station and the last Metro departure now belong in the plan.

RTA also changed Route 88’s endpoint from Umm Al Sheif Street to ONPASSIVE Metro Bus Stop on the north side. The station is now being renamed Garmin; the July notice uses the earlier name. It identifies Route 8 as an alternative for passengers heading to Dubai Internet City. Confirm the current stop and direction of Route 8 in the planner. A change in endpoint can mean a different place to wait even if two options run through the same part of Dubai. At Garmin/ONPASSIVE, include the north-side detail when sharing the stop with someone else. RTA’s Garmin renaming notice gives a September–November 2026 transition for signs, apps and announcements.

Street changes and local feeder changes

The direction wording is important on routes 96, X94 and F49. A change described towards a particular destination does not tell you whether every stop is the same in reverse. For a shift worker travelling from Jebel Ali Industrial Area, look up the journey at the time the shift ends. If the return involves a Metro connection, give the last train its own check. If the walk to the alternative stop is unfamiliar, identify the road crossing before relying on a short change.

Business Bay and the evening C01 change

RTA’s notice says X22 towards Al Qusais Industrial Area bypasses stops inside Business Bay. It goes directly from Business Bay Metro Bus Stop (South Side 1) towards Al Qusais Industrial Area 2 via Sheikh Zayed Road. RTA names F14 and F41 as alternatives for passengers in Business Bay. If you used to board X22 close to an office, search from the office entrance rather than assuming the feeder drops you at the X22 bay with enough time to change.

C01 was also rerouted between Flame Intersection 2 and Dnata 2 during the evening peak. The announcement describes a time-specific change. Look up your stop at the hour you intend to ride. If you use C01 on the way to work in the morning and return in the evening, search the two journeys separately. A route number that works at one time can pass different stops in a different service period.

How to compare the old and new journeys

For a trip that now passes through Oud Metha, record the scheduled bus arrival and the train you could reasonably catch after walking into the station. Compare that with any direct bus the planner offers from your starting address to Bur Dubai. The old destination at Al Ghubaiba is useful as a reference if it was where you met someone or made another change. For a trip to a specific address, compare the walk from the station you would actually get off at.

For a trip from Al Khail Gate, start by checking how long it takes to get to the Route 85 boarding stop. Then compare the wait for the bus with the walk and wait involved in another option. If your destination is close to Dubai Internet City Metro, you may be able to finish on foot. If you need the Red Line, compare both itineraries through to your final station. A bus that gets you to the rail corridor sooner can still leave you with a longer overall trip if your final walk is on the other side of a major road.

Save the precise stop names when you find a workable itinerary. The X22 stop on the south side of Business Bay Metro and the Route 88 terminus on the north side at Garmin/ONPASSIVE are examples where the side is part of the directions. Share the pin for the actual bus stop if somebody is joining you there. A pin for the station building can send them to a different entrance from the one they need.

Rebuild a saved route before the next trip

Enter the original addresses into RTA’s planner again and note what changed. Compare the boarding stop, route number and destination stop with the version you previously used. Where a bus now ends at a different Metro station, add the transfer walk. Where a route has been split or shortened, include the wait for the next bus. If a planner result leaves you with a tight connection, check the next viable departure and the walk to your destination before deciding that the route fits your schedule. RTA local bus journey and stop lookup.

Keep the fares attached to the route you are planning. Local buses are priced under RTA’s zone rules. RTA’s Metro-to-bus example allows 30 minutes from checking out of the Metro to checking in on the bus for the two legs to count as one journey, subject to its transfer rules. Use the fare and transfer conditions for your full itinerary when deciding whether to change at the new endpoint or use a different route from the start. RTA local fare and transfer conditions.

The July edition matters most when it changes the next decision a rider has to make. International City riders need the new direction and stop for Silicon Oasis. Route 67 riders need to decide whether to continue from Oud Metha. Riders who used Route 84 to reach Mall of the Emirates need a new plan for the last leg. Save the revised route for both directions and check service notices when you travel, especially if a later timetable change could affect your stop. RTA network change and brochure index.