Dubai taxi fares: what the meter starts at
Hailing a taxi on the street starts at AED 5 between 06:00 and 22:00, and AED 5.50 overnight. Booking the same taxi through an app starts at AED 9 off-peak but AED 13 during the morning and evening rush. From Dubai Airports it is AED 20, or AED 25 for a van. These are starting charges set by the RTA, not the total — the distance you travel is added on top.
Street hail
| Passenger | 06:00–22:00 | 22:00–06:00 |
|---|---|---|
| Standard | AED 5 | AED 5.50 |
| People of Determination taxi | AED 8 | AED 9 |
What RTA does not publish
The starting charge is published precisely. Almost everything that turns a starting charge into a final fare is not, and the gaps are worth knowing before you rely on an estimate:
- A per-kilometre rate, and a minimum fare. RTA publishes the starting charge and neither of these. Dubai Taxi Company, the operator, publishes AED 2.62 per kilometre on its own site — that is where the figure everyone quotes comes from, and it is the operator’s, not the fare-setting authority’s. Neither publishes a floor, so a very short trip cannot be priced from published figures alone.
- Waiting time. No per-minute rate is published for time spent stationary in traffic, which on a Dubai commute is a large share of the journey.
- Luggage. No baggage surcharge is published, and no statement that there is none.
- Card payment. No surcharge is published for paying by card, and no confirmation that every taxi accepts it. We are not going to state either.
- Bridge and toll pass-through. A journey that crosses a Salik gate incurs that toll, but RTA does not publish how it is added to a metered fare.
This matters more than it sounds. Every “how much is a taxi from A to B in Dubai” figure in circulation is somebody multiplying the operator’s per-kilometre rate by a map distance and ignoring all five of the above. We publish the starting charges because those are the numbers that are actually published.
Booked through an app
This is where the money is, and where almost nobody looks before booking. The RTA prices e-hail by the hour, and the same journey can start at AED 9 or AED 13 depending on when you tap the button. The two expensive windows on a working day are the morning and evening rush.
| Time | Monday–Thursday | Friday | Saturday–Sunday |
|---|---|---|---|
| 06:00–08:00 | AED 9 | AED 9 | AED 9 |
| 08:00–10:00 | AED 13 | AED 13 | AED 9 |
| 10:00–16:00 | AED 9 | AED 9 | AED 9 |
| 16:00–20:00 | AED 13 | AED 13 | AED 13 |
| 20:00–22:00 | AED 9 | AED 13 | AED 13 |
| 22:00–00:00 | AED 10 | AED 13 | AED 13 |
| 00:00–06:00 | AED 10 | AED 10 | AED 10 |
Two things worth reading off that table. On a Monday, waiting until 10:00 instead of booking at 09:00 saves AED 4 before you have moved a metre. And Friday evening is priced as a weekend from 16:00 all the way to midnight, where Monday to Thursday drops back to AED 9 at 20:00.
Airport and Port Rashid
| Pick-up point | Standard | Van |
|---|---|---|
| Dubai Airports | AED 20 | AED 25 |
| Port Rashid | AED 25 | — |
What this page does not tell you
Every figure above is a starting charge. The RTA states the full calculation as: “Taxi Fare = Base fare + Kilometer charge + Taxi waiting time charge + Fee for entering Sharjah (if applicable) + Fee for entering Port Rashid area (if applicable) + Salik fee (if applicable) + Fee for entering DARB (if applicable)”.
The per-kilometre rate, the waiting charge and any minimum fare are not published on that page, and we could not find them on another RTA page. The per-kilometre figure in circulation, AED 2.62, is published by Dubai Taxi Company on its own site — the operator, not the authority that sets the tariff. We attribute it to the operator wherever it appears here, because a figure quoted to the wrong publisher is a figure a reader cannot check. This table tells you what the meter starts at and what surcharges exist, not what a specific journey will cost.
If you cross a Salik gate during the trip, that toll is added to your fare — the rates and the free window are on the Salik page. If you are driving yourself instead, parking rates and validation are compared here.
Fares here are transcribed from RTA and Dubai Taxi Company as they publish them. Meters, surcharges and app pricing change without notice and a quoted fare is not a quotation — check the meter and the operator’s own page before you rely on a figure for a budget.
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Common questions
How much does a taxi cost in Dubai?
Hailing one on the street starts at AED 5 between 06:00 and 22:00 and AED 5.50 overnight. Those are RTA's published starting charges. The AED 2.62 per kilometre everyone quotes is published by Dubai Taxi Company, the operator, not by RTA — RTA publishes no per-kilometre rate at all. These are starting charges, not the total.
Is it cheaper to hail a Dubai taxi or book one on an app?
Hailing, by a wide margin. A street hail starts at AED 5; the same taxi booked through an app starts at AED 9 off-peak and AED 13 during the morning and evening rush. The car and the per-kilometre rate are identical.
How much is a taxi from Dubai airport?
The RTA starting charge is AED 20, or AED 25 for a van. Dubai Airports' own site states AED 25 flat, which contradicts the RTA. Both are official; we publish both.
Do Dubai taxis take card?
RTA publishes no surcharge for paying by card and no statement that cash is required. It also publishes no explicit confirmation that every taxi accepts card, so we cannot state one.
Are Dubai taxi fares different at night?
Yes, but only slightly on the meter: the street starting charge rises by 50 fils after 22:00. The app booking fee, not the meter, is what changes materially by time of day.