Abu Dhabi border scanners for Covid-19 have been in place for commuters since December 19, 2021. Chris Whiteoak / The National
Abu Dhabi border scanners for Covid-19 have been in place for commuters since December 19, 2021. Chris Whiteoak / The National
Abu Dhabi border scanners for Covid-19 have been in place for commuters since December 19, 2021. Chris Whiteoak / The National
Abu Dhabi border scanners for Covid-19 have been in place for commuters since December 19, 2021. Chris Whiteoak / The National

Travelling to Abu Dhabi from Dubai by taxi or bus? Here’s what you need to know


Patrick Ryan
  • English
  • Arabic

People taking a taxi or bus from Dubai to Abu Dhabi must remember that land border checks are in place to control the spread of the coronavirus.

All taxi passengers and the driver must have green status on Al Hosn, the UAE’s Covid-19 status and tracing app.

If the driver does not have green status, which indicates they have tested negative for Covid-19 in the past 14 days, the car will not be allowed to cross the border.

This is regardless of whether the service is operated by Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority or a private company such as Uber or Careem.

If the driver does not have green status, you will have to leave the vehicle at the border and find alternative transport on the Abu Dhabi side, an RTA official said.

Travellers are advised to book using the Hala section of the Careem app, which enables them to choose a driver with a negative PCR test result to take them all the way from Dubai to Abu Dhabi.

A standard Abu Dhabi or Dubai taxi, flagged from the street, costs in the region of Dh250 to Dh300 one way, depending on the final destination in your chosen city.

Careem charges a flat fare of Dh350 for all journeys between Dubai and Abu Dhabi city, while the cost of an Uber depends on your final destination, but will be more than Dh300.

Travelling by bus

Green status on Al Hosn is also a must if you are making the journey by bus.

The RTA official said that police conduct on-board checks at the border to ensure passengers have the correct status on the app before entry to Abu Dhabi is permitted.

While green status is not required when travelling from Abu Dhabi to Dubai, it will be needed on the return journey.

The bus service from Dubai to Abu Dhabi, Route E101, costs Dh25 each way. It departs from Ibn Battuta bus station in Dubai and arrives at Central Bus Station, opposite Al Wahda Mall, in Abu Dhabi. The journey takes about an hour and 40 minutes.

For the duration of Expo 2020 Dubai, RTA will operate free buses from Abu Dhabi to the world’s fair.

There are four departure points in the emirate: Abu Dhabi International Airport, Abu Dhabi Central Bus Station, Marina Mall Station and Al Ain Bus Station.

Al Hosn app explainer - in pictures

On the menu

First course

▶ Emirati sea bass tartare Yuzu and labneh mayo, avocado, green herbs, fermented tomato water  

▶ The Tale of the Oyster Oyster tartare, Bahraini gum berry pickle

Second course

▶ Local mackerel Sourdough crouton, baharat oil, red radish, zaatar mayo

▶ One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest Quail, smoked freekeh, cinnamon cocoa

Third course

▶ Bahraini bouillabaisse Venus clams, local prawns, fishfarm seabream, farro

▶ Lamb 2 ways Braised lamb, crispy lamb chop, bulgur, physalis

Dessert

▶ Lumi Black lemon ice cream, pistachio, pomegranate

▶ Black chocolate bar Dark chocolate, dates, caramel, camel milk ice cream
 

About RuPay

A homegrown card payment scheme launched by the National Payments Corporation of India and backed by the Reserve Bank of India, the country’s central bank

RuPay process payments between banks and merchants for purchases made with credit or debit cards

It has grown rapidly in India and competes with global payment network firms like MasterCard and Visa.

In India, it can be used at ATMs, for online payments and variations of the card can be used to pay for bus, metro charges, road toll payments

The name blends two words rupee and payment

Some advantages of the network include lower processing fees and transaction costs

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COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
 
Started: 2021
 
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
 
Based: Tunisia 
 
Sector: Water technology 
 
Number of staff: 22 
 
Investment raised: $4 million 
NINE WINLESS GAMES

Arsenal 2-2 Crystal Palace (Oct 27, PL)

Liverpool 5-5 Arsenal  (Oct 30, EFL)

Arsenal 1-1 Wolves (Nov 02, PL)

Vitoria Guimaraes 1-1 Arsenal  (Nov 6, Europa)

Leicester 2-0 Arsenal (Nov 9, PL)

Arsenal 2-2 Southampton (Nov 23, PL)

Arsenal 1-2 Eintracht Frankfurt (Nov 28, Europa)

Norwich 2-2 Arsenal (Dec 01, PL)

Arsenal 1-2 Brighton (Dec 05, PL)

What the law says

Micro-retirement is not a recognised concept or employment status under Federal Decree Law No. 33 of 2021 on the Regulation of Labour Relations (as amended) (UAE Labour Law). As such, it reflects a voluntary work-life balance practice, rather than a recognised legal employment category, according to Dilini Loku, senior associate for law firm Gateley Middle East.

“Some companies may offer formal sabbatical policies or career break programmes; however, beyond such arrangements, there is no automatic right or statutory entitlement to extended breaks,” she explains.

“Any leave taken beyond statutory entitlements, such as annual leave, is typically regarded as unpaid leave in accordance with Article 33 of the UAE Labour Law. While employees may legally take unpaid leave, such requests are subject to the employer’s discretion and require approval.”

If an employee resigns to pursue micro-retirement, the employment contract is terminated, and the employer is under no legal obligation to rehire the employee in the future unless specific contractual agreements are in place (such as return-to-work arrangements), which are generally uncommon, Ms Loku adds.

Who is Tim-Berners Lee?

Sir Tim Berners-Lee was born in London in a household of mathematicians and computer scientists. Both his mother, Mary Lee, and father, Conway, were early computer scientists who worked on the Ferranti 1 - the world's first commercially-available, general purpose digital computer. Sir Tim studied Physics at the University of Oxford and held a series of roles developing code and building software before moving to Switzerland to work for Cern, the European Particle Physics laboratory. He developed the worldwide web code as a side project in 1989 as a global information-sharing system. After releasing the first web code in 1991, Cern made it open and free for all to use. Sir Tim now campaigns for initiatives to make sure the web remains open and accessible to all.

Updated: January 16, 2022, 12:20 PM`