Al Quoz Bus Station Dubai: Routes & Timings

Al Quoz Bus Station is the RTA bus terminus for Al Quoz, the district between Sheikh Zayed Road and Al Khail Road that mixes Dubai’s busiest industrial areas with its best-known arts quarter. The station stands on the Al Quoz 1 side of the district, a short walk from Alserkal Avenue, and it is the home base for the routes that carry Al Quoz’s warehouse, workshop and factory workforce across the city — to Bur Dubai, Satwa, Deira and Al Qusais — as well as the visitors heading for the galleries.

Al Quoz has no Metro station inside the district itself, which is exactly why this station matters. for the thousands of people who live in the area’s labour accommodation and work across Al Quoz Industrial Areas 1 to 4, these buses are the link to the rest of Dubai. This guide covers every route that terminates at the station, the wider services that use street stops nearby, the timings picture, the nearest Metro station, and the practical details — Nol payment, numbered departure stands and the shift-change rush hours.

Al Quoz Bus Station Quick Facts

Detail	Information
Location	Al Quoz 1 side of Al Quoz, Dubai — near Alserkal Avenue, between Sheikh Zayed Road and Al Khail Road
Operator	RTA Dubai (Roads and Transport Authority)
Main routes	7 and 98E (Satwa), 10 (Gold Souq, Deira), 12, 21A and 21B (Al Ghubaiba), 63E (Al Qusais), 96 (Dubai Investment Park)
Intercity routes	None — no buses to other emirates leave from Al Quoz; change at Al Ghubaiba or Union Square
Nearest Metro	Onpassive (Red Line) — formerly Al Safa / Noor Bank; about a kilometre away, roughly a 15-minute walk
Payment	Nol card only — tap in when you board, tap out when you leave. No cash on any RTA bus
Station style	Open local terminus with numbered departure stands — RTA listings show station stops numbered 1 to 6
Service hours	Routes run from around 5:00 AM to around midnight; exact first and last buses differ by route

Routes from Al Quoz Bus Station

Routes to Bur Dubai and Deira

The station’s busiest work is the run into old Dubai. Three routes tie Al Quoz directly to Al Ghubaiba Bus Station in Bur Dubai: the 12, which crosses the district and runs up Al Wasl Road past Al Safa and the Gold & Diamond Park, and the 21A and 21B, the station-to-station variants of the Al Quoz–Ghubaiba corridor. From Al Ghubaiba you can connect to the Green Line Metro and the E100, E201 and E306 intercity buses. For Deira, the 10 runs from Al Quoz to Gold Souq Bus Station via Al Jafiliya Bus Station and the Satwa side — a long cross-city ride, but a direct one.

Routes to Satwa

Two routes link Al Quoz with Satwa Bus Station, the next local terminus north. The 7 is the standard service, running via the Jumeirah and Al Wasl side with around 20 stops and a journey of roughly 55 minutes; the 98E is its express partner, making fewer stops for a faster run at shift-friendly times. Between them they give Al Quoz a direct line into Satwa, Al Bada’a and the Al Jafiliya side of Bur Dubai without a Metro change.

Cross-Town Routes: Al Qusais and DIP

Two routes turn Al Quoz Bus Station into an industrial-to-industrial hub. The 63E runs to Al Qusais Bus Station via Ras Al Khor and the Muhaisnah labour-camp corridor — the direct link between Dubai’s two biggest workforce districts, and heavily used at shift changes. The 96 runs in the opposite direction, from Al Quoz to Dubai Investment Park (DIP), serving the industrial and residential zones of the city’s south-west. Both are long rides that cross several fare zones, so check the balance on your card before you board.

Route	Destination	Good for
7	Satwa Bus Station	The standard Al Quoz–Satwa link, via the Al Wasl / Jumeirah side
98E	Satwa Bus Station	Express version of the 7 — fewer stops, faster run
10	Gold Souq Bus Station, Deira	Direct to Deira via Al Jafiliya and the Satwa side
12	Al Ghubaiba Bus Station	Bur Dubai and the Creek via Al Wasl Road and Al Safa
21A	Al Ghubaiba Bus Station	Station-to-station Al Quoz–Ghubaiba service
21B	Al Ghubaiba Bus Station	Station-to-station Al Quoz–Ghubaiba service
63E	Al Qusais Bus Station	Industrial-to-industrial link via Ras Al Khor and Muhaisnah
96	Dubai Investment Park	The DIP run — industrial and residential zones in the south-west

More routes serve the wider Al Quoz district without terminating at the station itself. The 15 links Al Ghubaiba with Al Khail Gate, the residential community on the district’s inland edge; the 21 runs from Al Ghubaiba through the Al Quoz streets to Clinical Pathology Services; the 84 starts at Al Khail Gate for Jumeirah Beach Residence; feeders such as the F26 connect Onpassive Metro with Al Quoz Industrial Area 4; and the 110 serves Alserkal Avenue directly. For these, the S’hail app will show you the exact street stop to use.

Al Quoz Bus Station Timings

There is no single station timetable — every route keeps its own schedule — but the pattern follows the district’s working day. The first buses leave at around 5:00 AM (the 7, for example, is listed as running from 5:00 AM to 11:30 PM), services peak at the morning shift change, ease off mid-day, and surge again in the late afternoon and evening. The last departures on the main routes run to around midnight. Friday and public-holiday patterns are thinner, and timings shift during Ramadan. For live departures, check RTA‘s S’hail app on the day rather than relying on any printed list — including this one.

How to Reach Al Quoz Bus Station

By Metro: Onpassive Station, Then Walk or Feeder Bus

The nearest Metro station is Onpassive, on the Red Line at the Sheikh Zayed Road junction with Al Manara Street. Older guides may call it Al Safa or Noor Bank — it is the same station, renamed under RTA’s naming-rights programme, most recently in January 2023. The bus station is about a kilometre away: roughly a 15-minute walk, made easier by the pedestrian and cycling tracks RTA built to link the Al Quoz Creative Zone, Onpassive station and the bus station. In the summer heat, take a feeder bus for the last leg instead — the F15, F16 and F26 family runs from the Metro side into the Al Quoz streets and industrial areas — or a short taxi ride.

By Bus

Any of the routes in the table above will bring you to the station itself, and more routes stop on the streets around it. From Bur Dubai, ride the 12, 21A or 21B from Al Ghubaiba or the 7 or 98E from Satwa in reverse; from Deira, the 10 finishes here; from the Al Qusais side, take the 63E. If you are heading for a specific warehouse, camp or gallery, check S’hail first — a street stop on the 21, F26 or 110 may drop you closer to your door.

By Taxi or Car

Taxis know the station as “Al Quoz Bus Station” — say Al Quoz 1, near Alserkal Avenue, if the driver needs a landmark. By car, the approaches are Al Manara Street and First Al Khail Street from Sheikh Zayed Road, or the Al Quoz exits from Al Khail Road. Two warnings: the streets around the industrial areas crawl at the morning and evening shift changes, and parking near the station is limited and mostly serves the surrounding businesses. Most passengers arrive by bus, Metro-plus-feeder or taxi. Do not confuse the passenger station with RTA’s Al Quoz bus depot, an operational facility deeper inside the industrial area — no passenger routes start there.

Facilities and Tickets

Al Quoz is a working local terminus, not a terminal building, so keep your expectations practical: buses depart from numbered stands (RTA listings show the station’s stops numbered 1 to 6), with shaded waiting areas and route information at the stands. The most useful thing you can do is check your route’s stand and live departure time in the S’hail app before you arrive, especially at shift-change times when several routes load at once and queues build quickly.

Payment is by Nol card only on every bus from the station, at RTA’s standard Dubai zone fares — AED 3 within one zone, AED 5 across two zones and AED 7.50 across three or more, deducted when you tap out. The cross-town routes such as the 63E and 96 cross several zones, so a low balance is the most common problem here. Do not count on topping up at the station itself: top up at Onpassive Metro station, at any other Metro station, online, or in the Nol Pay app. Everything else a traveller needs is a short walk away in Al Quoz 1 — the cafeterias, supermarkets and shops around Alserkal Avenue serve the district’s workforce all day.

Who Uses Al Quoz Bus Station

Two very different crowds share this station. The first is the district’s workforce: Al Quoz Industrial Areas 1 to 4 hold hundreds of warehouses, workshops, factories and labour accommodation blocks, and the buses are timed around their shifts — which is why the 63E to the Muhaisnah camps and the Ghubaiba and Satwa routes are packed at 6:00 AM and again in the evening. The second crowd is the Al Quoz Creative Zone: Alserkal Avenue’s galleries, cinemas and cafés sit a short walk away, and for visitors the 12, the 10 or a Metro-plus-feeder combination is the cheap way in. Travel outside the shift-change peaks and the same buses are quiet and easy.

Travel Tips for Al Quoz Bus Station

• Avoid the shift-change crush: The station and the streets around it are at their busiest between roughly 6:00–8:00 AM and 5:00–8:00 PM, when the industrial areas change shifts. Visitors heading for Alserkal Avenue should aim for mid-morning or early afternoon instead.
• Check your stand, not just your route: Several routes load at once from different numbered stands. Confirm your stand in S’hail and be there a few minutes early — at peak times the queue, not the timetable, decides who gets a seat.
• Top up before you come: There is no Metro station at Al Quoz to rescue a low balance, and the 63E and 96 cross several zones. Arrive with a Nol card loaded for the full fare plus your onward ride; the Nol Pay app makes it a two-minute job.
• Know your Ghubaiba route: The 12, 21A and 21B all end at Al Ghubaiba but take different paths through the district — if you are boarding from a street stop rather than the station, check which of the three actually stops there.
• Do not walk the Metro leg in summer: The 15-minute walk from Onpassive station is a winter option. From May to September, take a feeder bus or a short taxi — the industrial streets offer little shade.
• No intercity buses here: Some websites list Abu Dhabi and Sharjah buses from Al Quoz — they are wrong. For other emirates, ride the 12 or 21A/21B to Al Ghubaiba (E100, E201, E306) or change to a Union Square service for the Deira-side routes.

Related Stations and Routes

• Al Ghubaiba Bus Station — routes 12, 21A & 21B and the intercity connections
• Satwa Bus Station — routes 7 & 98E from Al Quoz
• Al Jafiliya Bus Station — on the route 10 corridor to Deira

Frequently Asked Questions

Daniyal Sheikh

Transport Editor, UAE Travel Hub

Dubai daily commuter covering the Metro, Nol cards, RTA buses and intercity routes across all seven emirates — every fare and timing checked against official RTA, ITC and SRTA sources.