2 billion Dubai Metro riders: Residents recall their first trip on driverless system

2 billion Dubai Metro riders: Residents recall their first trip on driverless system

Many of them watched the once-in-a-lifetime launch live on their TV screens, itching to be one of the first to travel on the stunning network

Published: Mon 24 Apr 2023, 3:31 PM Last updated: Mon 24 Apr 2023, 3:40 PM

Some events are etched in our lives and they become life-long memories. The launch of the Dubai Metro on September 9, 2009 was one of these once-in-a-lifetime events for residents. Many of them watched it live on their screens while itching to be one of the first to travel on the driverless metro. Interestingly, some of them even share their birthdays with the metro.

The Metro reached its first milestone of one billion riders eight years after its launch, while the second billion was achieved faster, in just six years. If compared, the metro carried people close to the combined population of the USA, India and Pakistan.

Neeil Bhatia, a long-time Dubai resident, proudly shares his birthday with the Dubai Metro. “I can never forget Dubai Metro’s birthday as I share the same birth date, except that I’m older,” says Bhatia.

Pictured: Neeil Bhatia with family

“I remember about four years before it was launched, proposed images of what the metro would look like in Dubai