Stay informed so you start the new year stress-free
Imagine this: you rang in the last day of 2025, only to wake up on January 1, 2026, stressing over your car in RTA parking.
Well, thankfully you don’t have to worry, as the Road and Transport Authority has announced that public parking will be free of charge on the first day of the year. This, however, excludes multi-story parking facilities and Al Khail Gate N365.
Parking fees will be reinstated on Friday, January 2, 2026.
Other big announcements made by RTA for New Year’s Eve
For those of you using the Dubai Metro to get around, take note, as RTA has announced that over the New Year, service will be operating nonstop for over 43 hours, providing a convenient transport option to navigate the city’s celebrations. The service will start at 5am on Wednesday, December 31, 2025, and run all the way through to 11.59pm on Thursday, January 1, 2026. The RTA has extended service hours to ensure that you can move easily between key celebration spots, including Burj Khalifa, Dubai Mall, and Global Village.
The Dubai Tram will also operate from 6am on Wednesday, December 31, 2025, until 1am on Friday, January 2, 2026, offering additional transport options for those heading to JBR and other popular areas.
For public bus services (Dubai Bus), changes to the schedules during the New Year holiday can be found on the S’hail application.
Important road closures
Those planning to drive or use taxis around the downtown area will need to plan ahead.
The RTA has already unveiled a list of road closures, which will start from 4pm on New Year’s Eve. Read all about it here.
Customer Happiness Centres
All RTA Customer Happiness Centres will be closed on January 1, 2026.
The Smart Customer Happiness Areas at Al Barsha, Al Twar, Al Kifaf, as well as RTA headquarters, will continue to operate as usual on a 24-hour basis.
Service provider centres will be closed during the New Year holiday on January 1, 2026. It will reopen on Friday, January 2, 2026.
Images: Getty Images
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