Madinat Zayed Bus Station is the main bus station of Madinat Zayed — the Al Dhafra (Western) Region’s biggest town, also called Zayed City, about 160 km west of Abu Dhabi city. The station stands on Sheikha Salama Bint Butti Road in the centre of town, and planners list its stop as “E45 / Madinat Zayed Bus Station“, after the E45 road it sits on. From here, regional buses fan out across the desert west: the X62 and the Liwa express X60 to Abu Dhabi city, the 660 to Mezaira’a in Liwa, the 670 to Tarif, and local routes around the town itself.
One confusion is worth clearing up first, because the name works twice. There is also a Madinat Zayed district in Abu Dhabi city, around the Madinat Zayed Shopping Centre — but it has no bus station of its own, only street stops, and the capital’s terminal is a few minutes away from it. This guide covers the real station in Al Dhafra town in full, and the city district’s stops separately at the end.
Madinat Zayed Bus Station Quick Facts
| Madinat Zayed Bus Station — Quick Facts | |
|---|---|
| Location | Sheikha Salama Bint Butti Road (E45), centre of Madinat Zayed (Zayed City), Al Dhafra Region — in planners as “E45 / Madinat Zayed Bus Station” |
| Operator | Abu Dhabi Mobility (formerly the Integrated Transport Centre, ITC) |
| Buses to Abu Dhabi city | X62 direct to Abu Dhabi Central Bus Station · X60 Liwa express calling here via Mussafah |
| Regional routes | 660 to Mezaira’a (Liwa) · 670 to Tarif · 675 to Habshan (ADCO) · 686 to Ghayathi |
| Local routes | 661–668 town services — hospital, markets, camps, stadium and suburbs |
| Payment | Hafilat card on all Abu Dhabi Mobility buses — no cash on board |
| Help | Abu Dhabi Mobility support 800 850 · live times in the Darbi app |
Two Madinat Zayeds: Which One Do You Mean?
The station in this guide belongs to Madinat Zayed town in Al Dhafra — a desert town founded in 1968, about 160 km west of the capital on the road towards Liwa and the Empty Quarter. It is the Western Region’s transport hub: oil-and-gas workers from the Habshan and Bu Hasa fields, farm and camp communities, students and families all pass through it, and for most of Al Dhafra it is where local buses meet the long runs to Abu Dhabi city.
The city district of the same name is a completely different place: a central Abu Dhabi neighbourhood around Madinat Zayed Shopping Centre and the Gold Centre on Sultan Bin Zayed The First Street. There is no terminal there — but the capital’s main station, Abu Dhabi Central Bus Station beside Al Wahda Mall, is only about 3 km away, and we cover the district’s stops in the city section below. For the Dubai coaches, the Al Ain express or the Sharjah bus, that is the station you want (see our Al Wahda Bus Station guide).
Buses to Abu Dhabi City
Two services link Madinat Zayed with the capital, both ending at Abu Dhabi Central Bus Station and both paid by Hafilat card. Neither is frequent — plan your day around the timetable. Abu Dhabi Mobility publishes its long-distance services on admobility.gov.ae, and both routes’ live pattern is in the Darbi app.
| Route | Service | Journey time | Pattern |
|---|---|---|---|
| X62 | Madinat Zayed Bus Station ↔ Abu Dhabi Central Bus Station | Roughly 2 hrs 20 mins–3 hrs | A handful of departures a day, roughly every 2–4 hrs |
| X60 | Mezaira’a (Liwa) ↔ Abu Dhabi Central, calling at Madinat Zayed and Mussafah | About 2 hrs 15 mins from Madinat Zayed | Every 2 hrs through the day |
X62: the direct Abu Dhabi bus
The X62 is the station’s own Abu Dhabi service: it starts here and runs to Abu Dhabi Central Bus Station with limited stops, including Safeer Mall in Khalifa City on the way in. Feed timings show the first departure from Madinat Zayed at 7:05 AM and the last at 7:05 PM (later, to 9:00 PM, on Fridays), with buses back from Abu Dhabi running from 8:00 AM to 8:00 PM. Gaps between departures run from about two to four hours, so check Darbi before you travel. From Abu Dhabi Central, the E100 and E101 coaches continue to Dubai — all three Dubai routes are compared in our Dubai to Abu Dhabi bus guide.
X60: the Liwa express, calling at Madinat Zayed
The X60 is the Abu Dhabi–Liwa express, running between Abu Dhabi Central Bus Station and Mezaira’a Bus Station in the Liwa oasis. Madinat Zayed is its main intermediate stop: the feed timetable shows buses leaving Mezaira’a every two hours from 5:10 AM to 7:10 PM, calling at Madinat Zayed roughly 55 minutes later, then via Mussafah Bus Station, reaching Abu Dhabi about 2 hours 15 minutes after leaving Madinat Zayed. Westbound, it is the station’s last bus of the day — the feed shows an X60 calling at around 11:20 PM on its way to Liwa.
Regional Buses Across Al Dhafra
Beyond the capital run, the station is the hub of the Western Region’s regional network — the 6xx routes linking Al Dhafra’s towns, camps and industrial sites:
| Route | Goes to | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 660 | Mezaira’a Bus Station, Liwa | The town’s second Liwa link alongside the X60 — a stopping service rather than an express |
| 670 | Tarif Bus Station | The busiest regional route — frequent daytime service, reduced on Fridays |
| 675 | Habshan — ADCO Accommodation | Serves the oil-and-gas communities west of town |
| 686 | Ghayathi Bus Station | North-west across Al Dhafra towards the Ruwais side |
Local Buses in Madinat Zayed Town
A family of local routes — the 661 to 668 series — connects the station with Madinat Zayed Hospital, Baynunah Market and the souq area, the industrial area and labour camps such as Al Jaber Camp, Al Dhafra Stadium, and outlying stops including the Tilal Liwa Hotel (the 666) and the Ready Mix side of town (the 663). Times follow the town’s working day rather than a clock-face pattern, so check your route in Darbi — some town services run only a few trips a day.
Madinat Zayed Bus Station Timings
Each route keeps its own schedule; the overall pattern from the feed is: the first local bus — the 660 towards Liwa — calls at around 5:58 AM; the first X62 to Abu Dhabi leaves at 7:05 AM; regional and local services run through the day; and the last bus is the westbound X60 at around 11:20 PM. Friday and holiday patterns differ on several routes. Confirm your departure in the Darbi app on the day.
How to Reach Madinat Zayed Bus Station
By bus: from Abu Dhabi city, the X62 (direct) and X60 (via Mussafah) both leave from Abu Dhabi Central Bus Station and set you down at the station itself. From Liwa, the X60 and 660 come in from Mezaira’a; from Tarif, the 670.
By taxi: a taxi stand — Madinat Zayed Taxi Stand — sits right beside the station, and taxis are the practical way to reach camps, farms and hotels outside the town centre.
By car: the town is on the E45, about 160 km west of Abu Dhabi city via the E11 and the Tarif–Liwa road — around two hours’ driving. The station is in the centre of town on Sheikha Salama Bint Butti Road, near the Zayed City Market.
Facilities and Tickets
Keep expectations in line with a working regional station: a functional desert-town terminal rather than a city interchange — shaded waiting areas and seating for the long waits between departures, with the town’s shops and market streets a short walk away for supplies before a two-hour-plus journey. Every bus here is paid by Hafilat card (see below), so the one essential is arriving with a topped-up card, because the smaller regional stops cannot sell you one.
Hafilat: Paying at Madinat Zayed
Every bus from this station — the X62 and X60 to the capital, the regional 6xx routes and the town services — is paid with the Hafilat card. Cash is not accepted on board, and Dubai’s Nol card does not work here. An anonymous Hafilat card costs AED 10, from main stations and partner shops; top it up before heading west, as outlets in the smaller Al Dhafra towns are limited.
The mechanics are the emirate’s standard ones. Fares are distance-based — AED 2 boarding plus 5 fils per kilometre, capped at AED 5 for journeys over 60 km on the standard regional services — and the long Abu Dhabi runs are charged by distance on the same card system; check Darbi for the exact fare on your service. Tap in when you board and tap out when you leave: on distance-based fares, forgetting to tap out charges the maximum. Transfers within 60 minutes of tapping out waive the second AED 2 boarding fee, and children aged 10 and below travel free.
The Other Madinat Zayed: Abu Dhabi City District
If you meant the capital, here is the honest picture. Madinat Zayed in Abu Dhabi city is the central district around Madinat Zayed Shopping Centre and the Gold Centre, between Zayed The First Street and Sheikh Rashid Bin Saeed Street. It has no bus station — only a pair of well-used street stops on Sultan Bin Zayed The First Street: “Sultan Bin Zayed Street / Gold Center” and “Sultan Bin Zayed Street / Madinat Zayed Shopping Centre”, served by city buses including the 44, 56, 101 and 120, with the A1 airport bus also passing through the district.
For anything longer-distance, the district’s real station is Abu Dhabi Central Bus Station, about 3 km east beside Al Wahda Mall — a few minutes by the 101 or 56 bus from the shopping-centre stops, or a short taxi ride. That is where the E100 and E101 leave for Dubai, the X90 for Al Ain and the 117 for Sharjah — and where the X62 and X60 leave for Madinat Zayed town. Both terminals are covered in our Al Wahda Bus Station and Mussafah Bus Station guides.
Tips for Using Madinat Zayed Bus Station
- Treat departures as appointments: on the X62, gaps between buses run to several hours, and some regional routes run once a day. Missing one is not a 15-minute problem — check Darbi and plan backwards.
- Arrive with a topped-up Hafilat card: no bus from this station takes cash, and card outlets in Al Dhafra’s smaller towns are limited. Sort the card in Abu Dhabi city before you need it.
- Carry water and supplies for the Abu Dhabi run: the journey is two hours and more through open desert. Stock up at the town’s shops near the station.
- Tap out, every time: fares here are distance-based. A forgotten tap-out means the maximum fare, deducted on your next trip.
- Know which Madinat Zayed your planner means: if a planner shows “E45 / Madinat Zayed Bus Station”, that is the Al Dhafra town, 160 km away — not the city shopping district.
- Use the taxi stand for the last stretch: camps, farms and facilities outside town are rarely on a bus route. The taxi stand beside the station covers them.
Where is Madinat Zayed Bus Station located?
On Sheikha Salama Bint Butti Road (the E45) in the centre of Madinat Zayed — Zayed City — the main town of Abu Dhabi’s Al Dhafra (Western) Region, about 160 km west of Abu Dhabi city. Planners list its stop as “E45 / Madinat Zayed Bus Station”.
Is Madinat Zayed Bus Station in Abu Dhabi city?
No. The station is in Madinat Zayed town in Al Dhafra, two hours west of the capital. Abu Dhabi city has a Madinat Zayed district around the Madinat Zayed Shopping Centre, but it has no station — only street stops on Sultan Bin Zayed The First Street, a few minutes from Abu Dhabi Central Bus Station.
How do I get from Madinat Zayed to Abu Dhabi city by bus?
Two buses run to Abu Dhabi Central Bus Station: the X62, which starts at Madinat Zayed and runs direct with limited stops (first bus 7:05 AM, last 7:05 PM in the feed, a handful of departures a day), and the X60 Liwa express, calling here every two hours on its way from Mezaira’a via Mussafah. The journey takes roughly 2 hours 15 minutes to 3 hours depending on the service; both are paid by Hafilat card.
What time is the first and last bus from Madinat Zayed Bus Station?
The first service, the 660 towards Liwa, calls at around 5:58 AM, and the first X62 to Abu Dhabi leaves at 7:05 AM. The last bus of the day is the westbound X60 to Liwa at around 11:20 PM. Check your route in Darbi, as Friday and holiday patterns differ.
Can I pay cash on buses from Madinat Zayed?
No. Every bus from the station is an Abu Dhabi Mobility service paid by Hafilat card — cash is not accepted on board, and Dubai’s Nol card does not work here. A Hafilat card costs AED 10.
Is there a bus from Madinat Zayed to Liwa?
Yes — two. The X60 express runs from Abu Dhabi through Madinat Zayed to Mezaira’a Bus Station in the Liwa oasis, and the 660 is the stopping regional service over the same corridor. Both take Hafilat, and the run takes under an hour.
Is there a direct bus from Madinat Zayed to Dubai?
No. Ride the X62 or X60 to Abu Dhabi Central Bus Station and change there to the E100 (to Al Ghubaiba) or E101 (to Ibn Battuta) — those Dubai coaches are paid by Nol card, not Hafilat, so carry both cards for the full journey.
Which buses serve places inside Madinat Zayed town?
The local 661–668 route family links the station with Madinat Zayed Hospital, Baynunah Market, the industrial area and labour camps, Al Dhafra Stadium and outlying stops including the Tilal Liwa Hotel (666) and the Ready Mix side of town (663). Check your route in Darbi — some town services run only a few times a day.
Related Routes
- Al Wahda Bus Station Abu Dhabi: Routes & Timings
- Mussafah Bus Station Abu Dhabi: Routes & Timings
- Dubai to Abu Dhabi Bus — all routes compared
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.