If you intend on using public transport in Dubai, you will need a Nol card. Nol in Arabic means fare.
Nol or a Nol card is a rechargeable chip card. You need a Nol to travel on Dubai’s RTA (Roads and Transport Authority) Metro, buses, taxis and trams. It can also be used for many other services in Dubai, including public park entry, parking meters, museums, restaurants and even paying for groceries!
Here is a roundup of some of the places where you can use your nol card to make payments.
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Pay for Public Parking in Dubai
In case you do not have enough change in your wallet or balance on your mobile phone, you can use your nol card to pay for public parking through the parking payment machines.
All you have to do is insert the nol card into the card slot and enter your vehicle plate details like source (the emirate where your car is registered) plate code and number. Once that’s done, select the parking duration and the amount will be deducted from the nol card’s balance.
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Pay for Taxi Fares
You can also use the nol card to pay for almost every mode of public transportation in Dubai, such as the bus, Dubai Metro, water buses and as well as the RTA taxi.
In 2019, RTA announced that it had completed the installation of all Point of Sale (POS) devices in public taxis in Dubai. This means that passengers can use their nol car as an accepted form of payment in all public taxis in Dubai. Just hold your card over the POS device (card reader) and it will automatically validate the card and deduct the fare.
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Pay for The Palm Monorail
On October 25, 2022, RTA announced that commuters can use the nol gold, silver or blue cards to pay for their journey on the Palm Monorail.
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Enter Public Parks and The Etihad Museum
The nol card also allows you to pay for entering public parks operated by Dubai Municipality.
Major public parks in Dubai accept cash and nol cards, except Zabeel Park, which requires visitors to pay for the park entry fee only through a nol card. The cost for entering public parks ranges from Dh3 to Dh5 per person.
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Pay for Groceries
Public transport users can also use the nol card to pay for groceries, snacks from a convenience store. Supermarkets such as Carrefour, Lulu, and Aswaaq, as well as convenience stores such as Zoom and Circle K accept payments via Nol card.
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Use in Restaurants and Cafes
Public transport users can also use the nol card for a meal at a restaurant. There are over 2,000 food and retail outlets that have collaborated with RTA to allow customers to pay through their nol card. Some of the food outlets that accept Nol cards are Gloria Jeans, Burger King, Mister Baker, and Paavo’s Pizza.
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For Medicines and Pharmacies
Public transport users can also use the nol card for medicines. You can pay with Nol cards at Medcare clinics across the emirate, as well as at various pharmacies in the city.
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Use Your NOL Card to Refuel Your Car
In 2017, RTA announced that motorists can choose to pay using their nol cards for refuelling and make purchases at all ENOC fuel stations.
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Pay for Your Vehicle Registration
According to the RTA website, motorists can use their nol card to pay for their vehicle registration and vehicle test at Tasjeel centres.
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Car Servicing Centres
You can get your car serviced or repaired using a Nol card at Autopro locations across the country.
