The uae intercity bus network is the cheapest way to travel between the seven emirates — and the most confusing to piece together, because there is no single national bus company. Each emirate runs its own intercity services: Dubai’s RTA, Abu Dhabi Mobility, Sharjah’s SRTA, Ajman Transport, Ras Al Khaimah’s RAKTA and Fujairah’s FTC. Fares run from AED 6 for the Sharjah–Ajman hop to AED 50 for the longest Ras Al Khaimah–Abu Dhabi coach, most journeys take between 30 minutes and three hours, and almost every corridor in the country is covered by at least one direct bus. This pillar guide brings the whole network into one place: every corridor with its fare and journey time, Dubai’s E-series routes, the five payment cards and where each one works, and the main station in every emirate.
One rule explains most of the confusion: the bus belongs to one emirate’s operator, and only that operator’s card works on it. A Nol card rides every Dubai RTA bus but is refused on a Sharjah SRTA bus standing at the next bay. Each corridor section below names the operator, and the payment cards table further down shows exactly where each card is accepted — and where it is not.
| UAE Intercity Bus — Quick Facts | |
|---|---|
| Operators | RTA (Dubai) · Abu Dhabi Mobility (ITC) · SRTA (Sharjah) · Ajman Transport · RAKTA (Ras Al Khaimah) · FTC (Fujairah) |
| Cheapest corridor | Sharjah ⇄ Ajman — AED 6 (SRTA routes 114 & 112) |
| Busiest corridor | Dubai ⇄ Abu Dhabi — three routes (E100, E101, E102), buses every 20–30 minutes |
| Longest direct ride | Ras Al Khaimah ⇄ Abu Dhabi — about 3 to 3½ hours, AED 35–50 depending on direction |
| Typical fare range | AED 6–35 one way; most corridors AED 12–30 |
| Payment cards | Nol (Dubai) · Hafilat (Abu Dhabi) · Sayer (Sharjah) · Masaar (Ajman) · E-SAQR (Ras Al Khaimah) — no card works everywhere |
| Cash | Accepted by SRTA, Ajman Transport and RAKTA counters · NEVER accepted on RTA buses or Abu Dhabi city buses |
| International bus | Sharjah ⇄ Muscat (Oman) — Mwasalat route 203 from Al Jubail, OMR 10 |
How UAE Intercity Buses Work
There is no UAE-wide bus pass and no single timetable. Instead, six transport authorities run intercity services out of their own main stations, and neighbouring emirates coordinate so that most city pairs have a direct bus. The pattern to learn is simple: the departing emirate’s operator usually runs the bus, sets the fare and decides how you pay. A handful of corridors are run by the other end’s operator instead — the Dubai–Ras Al Khaimah coach is RAKTA’s, and the Abu Dhabi–Ajman coach is Ajman Transport’s — which is why the payment card changes with the corridor, not with your starting city.
| Emirate | Intercity operator | Main intercity station | Card you need |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dubai | RTA | Union, Al Ghubaiba, Ibn Battuta, Etisalat, Al Jafiliya | Nol card (no cash, ever) |
| Abu Dhabi | Abu Dhabi Mobility (ITC) | Abu Dhabi Central (Al Wahda) | Hafilat card |
| Sharjah | SRTA (Mowasalat) | Al Jubail | Sayer card or cash |
| Ajman | Ajman Transport | Al Musalla | Masaar card or cash |
| Ras Al Khaimah | RAKTA | Al Hamra (Al Dhait) | E-SAQR card, Sayr app or cash |
| Fujairah | FTC (local) + visiting operators | Fujairah Bus Station | Cash on local buses; the visiting operator’s card on coaches |
| Umm Al Quwain | No own intercity operator | Town-centre stops (no terminal) | Served by Ajman Transport and RAKTA coaches passing through |
Two practical consequences follow. First, book and check times with the operator, not the destination: RTA’s S’hail app for Dubai buses, Abu Dhabi Mobility for the X90, SRTA for Sharjah’s numbered routes, the Masaar app for Ajman Transport, and RAKTA’s Sayr app or RAKBUS site for Ras Al Khaimah coaches. Second, fares are sometimes priced differently by direction on the same corridor — Ras Al Khaimah charges AED 27 towards Dubai but Dubai charges AED 30 coming back — so budget the direction you are actually travelling.
All UAE Intercity Routes by Corridor
This is the master table for the whole network. Every row links to the full corridor guide on this site, with stop lists, first and last buses and station directions. Fares are one-way per person.
| Corridor | Main bus(es) | Fare (AED) | Journey time | Full guide |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dubai ⇄ Abu Dhabi | E100 · E101 · E102 (RTA) | 25–30 | 1 hr 45 – 2 hr 15 | Dubai to Abu Dhabi bus |
| Dubai ⇄ Sharjah | E303 · E304 · E306 · E307 · E307A · E308 (RTA) | 12 (E306: 10–12) | 30–60 min | Dubai to Sharjah bus |
| Dubai ⇄ Ajman | E400 · E411 (RTA) | 15 / 12 | 45–60 min | Dubai to Ajman bus |
| Dubai ⇄ Al Ain | E201 (RTA) | 30 | 2 hr 15 | Dubai to Al Ain bus |
| Dubai ⇄ Fujairah | E700 (RTA) | 30 | About 2 hrs | Dubai to Fujairah bus |
| Dubai ⇄ Ras Al Khaimah | RAKTA coach | 30 from Dubai · 27 from RAK | 1 hr 30 – 2 hrs | Dubai to Ras Al Khaimah bus |
| Dubai ⇄ Hatta | H02 Hatta Express (RTA) | 25 | About 90 min | Dubai to Hatta bus |
| Abu Dhabi ⇄ Sharjah | Route 117 (SRTA) | 30 from Abu Dhabi · 33 from Sharjah | About 2 hr 45 | Abu Dhabi to Sharjah bus |
| Abu Dhabi ⇄ Ajman | Ajman Transport coach | 30 Masaar · 35 cash | About 3 hrs | Abu Dhabi to Ajman bus |
| Abu Dhabi ⇄ Al Ain | X90 Express (Abu Dhabi Mobility) | 25 | 2 – 2½ hrs | Abu Dhabi to Al Ain bus |
| Abu Dhabi ⇄ Fujairah | No direct bus — change at Sharjah Al Jubail (117 + 116) | About 57–60 total | About 5 hrs with transfer | Abu Dhabi to Fujairah bus |
| Abu Dhabi ⇄ Ras Al Khaimah | RAKTA coach | 35 from Abu Dhabi · 50 from RAK | 3 – 3½ hrs | Abu Dhabi to Ras Al Khaimah bus |
| Sharjah ⇄ Ajman | Routes 114 & 112 (SRTA) | 6 | 25–45 min | Sharjah to Ajman bus |
| Sharjah ⇄ Al Ain | Route 118 (SRTA) | 33 | About 2 hr 45 | Sharjah to Al Ain bus |
| Sharjah ⇄ Fujairah & East Coast | Routes 116 & 611 (SRTA) | 30 | 2 – 2½ hrs (3 hrs to Khor Fakkan) | Sharjah to Fujairah bus |
| Ajman ⇄ Al Ain | Ajman Transport coach (4 trips a day) | 35 | 4 trips a day — times in the guide | Ajman to Al Ain bus |
| Ajman ⇄ Ras Al Khaimah | RAKTA / Ajman Transport coach via Umm Al Quwain | 25 from Ajman · 20 from RAK | About 1 hr 20 | Ajman to Ras Al Khaimah bus |
| Sharjah ⇄ Muscat (Oman) | Route 203 (Mwasalat Oman) | OMR 10 | About 8 hrs incl. border | Sharjah to Muscat bus |
Three gaps in the network are worth memorising. There is no direct Abu Dhabi–Fujairah bus and no direct Ajman–Fujairah bus — both trips route through Sharjah’s Al Jubail station and SRTA route 116. And Umm Al Quwain has no bus station or operator of its own: it is served by the Ajman–Ras Al Khaimah coaches calling at town-centre stops, covered in our Umm Al Quwain bus station guide.
Booking works differently from most countries: on the high-frequency corridors — Dubai–Abu Dhabi, Dubai–Sharjah, Dubai–Ajman, Sharjah–Ajman — there is nothing to book at all. You tap your card, take a seat, and the next bus is rarely more than 30 minutes away. The exceptions are the low-frequency coaches, where a reservation genuinely protects your day: RAKTA sells its Ras Al Khaimah departures through the Sayr app and the RAKBUS website as well as at the counter, and the Muscat coach is best booked ahead through Mwasalat. Everything else is first-come, first-seated — which is why the standing advice on commuter corridors is to board at the terminal rather than an intermediate stop, where peak-hour buses can arrive already full.
Friday and weekend patterns differ from weekdays on several routes — some first buses leave later, a few frequencies thin out, and the Dubai–Sharjah corridor’s peak shifts to the afternoon. Every corridor guide on this site lists its route’s weekday and weekend pattern separately, so check yours there rather than assuming the timetable you used on Tuesday applies on Friday.
Dubai’s E-Series Intercity Routes
Dubai brands its intercity buses with an “E” prefix, and they are the backbone of the network: fourteen routes linking five Dubai terminals to Abu Dhabi, Sharjah, Ajman, Al Ain and Fujairah. All are RTA buses — Nol card only, tap in and tap out, no cash and no other emirate’s card. Each route has its own full guide on this site.
| Route | From (Dubai) | To | Fare (AED) | Guide |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| E100 | Al Ghubaiba | Abu Dhabi Central | 30 | E100 bus |
| E101 | Ibn Battuta | Abu Dhabi Central | 25 | E101 bus |
| E102 | Al Jafiliya | Mussafah, Abu Dhabi (via Zayed Airport) | 25 | E102 bus |
| E201 | Al Ghubaiba | Al Ain Central | 30 | E201 bus |
| E303 | Union Square | Sharjah Al Jubail | 12 | E303 bus |
| E304 | Satwa | Sharjah Al Jubail | 12 | E304 bus |
| E306 | Al Ghubaiba | Sharjah Al Jubail | 10–12 | E306 bus |
| E307 | Deira City Centre | Sharjah Al Jubail | 12 | E307 bus |
| E307A | Abu Hail | Sharjah Al Jubail | 12 | E307A bus |
| E308 | Stadium (Al Qusais) | Sharjah Al Jubail | 12 | E308 bus |
| E315 | Etisalat | Sharjah Muweilah | 12 | E315 bus |
| E400 | Union Square | Ajman Al Musalla | 15 | E400 bus |
| E411 | Etisalat | Ajman Al Musalla | 12 | E411 bus |
| E700 | Etisalat | Fujairah | 30 | E700 bus |
P your Dubai terminal by where you are staying, not by the destination alone: Union Square and Al Ghubaiba serve old Dubai, Ibn Battuta serves the Marina and Jebel Ali side, Etisalat and Stadium serve Al Qusais and the airport side, and Al Jafiliya sits beside the Satwa–Jumeirah corridor. Every one of these terminals connects to the Dubai Metro or a feeder bus. The complete Dubai picture — city routes, terminals and the Metro link — is in our Dubai bus guide.
Payment Cards Compared: Nol, Hafilat, Sayer, Masaar, E-SAQR
Five smart cards cover the UAE’s buses, and the single most common intercity mistake is assuming one of them works everywhere. None does. Each card belongs to one operator, and the other four are refused — usually politely, at the door of a bus you now cannot board. Use this table before any trip that crosses an emirate boundary.
| Card | Operator | Works on | Does NOT work on | Cash alternative? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nol | RTA, Dubai | All RTA buses incl. every E-route, Dubai Metro, tram | SRTA, Ajman Transport, RAKTA, Abu Dhabi buses | No — RTA buses never take cash |
| Hafilat | Abu Dhabi Mobility | Abu Dhabi city buses and the X90 to Al Ain | RTA, SRTA, Ajman, RAKTA buses | No cash on Abu Dhabi buses |
| Sayer | SRTA, Sharjah | SRTA city and intercity buses (114, 116, 117, 118…) | RTA E-routes at the same stations, Ajman, RAKTA | Yes — cash accepted, at a higher fare |
| Masaar | Ajman Transport | Ajman city and intercity buses | RTA E400/E411 at Al Musalla, SRTA buses | Yes — cash accepted, at a higher fare |
| E-SAQR | RAKTA, Ras Al Khaimah | RAKTA city lines (flat AED 8) and intercity coaches | Every other emirate’s buses | Yes — counters and the Sayr app also sell tickets |
The trap stations are the shared ones. At Al Jubail in Sharjah, RTA buses to Dubai need Nol while SRTA buses at the next bay need Sayer or cash. At Al Musalla in Ajman, three operators meet and each takes a different card. And at Abu Dhabi Central, the RTA buses from Dubai are Nol buses standing in a Hafilat city. If you regularly cross between two emirates, carry both cards — each costs only a few dirhams to buy.
Main Bus Stations in Each Emirate
Almost every intercity journey starts at one of these terminals. Each has a full station guide on this site with routes, facilities and directions.
- Dubai: Union Bus Station (Sharjah, Ajman, RAK) · Al Ghubaiba (Abu Dhabi, Al Ain, Sharjah) · Ibn Battuta (Abu Dhabi) · Etisalat (Ajman, Fujairah, Muweilah) · Al Jafiliya (Abu Dhabi via E102)
- Abu Dhabi: Abu Dhabi Central Bus Station (Al Wahda) — every intercity arrival and departure · Mussafah for the E102 · Al Ain Bus Station for the Garden City
- Sharjah: Al Jubail (all intercity) · Muweilah (University City side, E315) · Rolla (city hub)
- Ajman: Al Musalla Bus Station — the emirate’s only terminal
- Ras Al Khaimah: Al Hamra Bus Station (Al Dhait) for intercity, Al Nakheel for city buses
- Fujairah & East Coast: Fujairah Bus Station · Kalba · Dibba (town stops, no terminal)
- Hatta: Hatta Bus Station
How to Plan an Intercity Bus Trip
- Start from the corridor table above and open the full guide for your city pair — it has the stop list, first/last buses and the right station at both ends.
- Check which operator runs your bus, then top up that operator’s card before you travel. RTA and Abu Dhabi buses take no cash at all.
- Mind the low-frequency routes: the Ajman–Abu Dhabi and Ajman–Al Ain coaches run just four times a day, and Abu Dhabi–Ras Al Khaimah three times a day. Miss one and the wait is measured in hours.
- Allow for peak traffic on the Dubai–Sharjah and Dubai–Ajman corridors, where a 40-minute run can stretch past two hours between 5 PM and 8 PM.
- Board at the terminal for a seat on commuter corridors — morning E400s and E303s can leave intermediate stops with standing room only.
City Bus Guides
Intercity buses get you to the emirate; the city networks take it from there. Our hub guide for each major city covers its local routes, stations and card in one place: the Dubai bus guide, the Abu Dhabi bus guide, Sharjah bus routes and Ajman bus guide.
How do intercity buses work in the UAE?
Each emirate runs its own intercity buses through its own transport authority — RTA in Dubai, Abu Dhabi Mobility, SRTA in Sharjah, Ajman Transport, RAKTA in Ras Al Khaimah and FTC locally in Fujairah. You board at the operator’s main station, pay with that operator’s card (or cash where accepted), and ride direct: most city pairs have at least one direct service, and the full corridor list with fares is in the table above.
Which is the cheapest intercity bus route in the UAE?
Sharjah to Ajman, at AED 6 on SRTA routes 114 and 112 between Al Jubail and Al Musalla — the two cities run into each other and the ride takes 25–45 minutes. The next cheapest are the Dubai–Sharjah E-routes at AED 12 and the E411 Dubai–Ajman bus, also AED 12.
Can I use a Nol card on buses outside Dubai?
Only on RTA buses, wherever they run — so a Nol card works on the E100 into Abu Dhabi Central and the E315 into Sharjah’s Muweilah, because those are Dubai buses. It does not work on SRTA, Ajman Transport, RAKTA or Abu Dhabi Mobility buses, even at shared stations like Al Jubail and Al Musalla. Each of those operators has its own card: Sayer, Masaar, E-SAQR and Hafilat.
Is there a direct bus from Abu Dhabi to Fujairah?
No. The practical routing is Abu Dhabi Central to Sharjah Al Jubail on SRTA route 117, then route 116 to Fujairah — about AED 57–60 in total and roughly five hours including the transfer. The alternative is via Dubai: an RTA E-bus to Dubai, a cross-city transfer to Etisalat, then the E700. Both routings are broken down in our Abu Dhabi to Fujairah bus guide.
What is the longest intercity bus journey in the UAE?
Ras Al Khaimah to Abu Dhabi: a direct RAKTA coach taking about 3 to 3½ hours, three times a day in each direction. It is also the corridor with the widest fare split — AED 50 from Ras Al Khaimah but AED 35 from Abu Dhabi, because the two directions are priced separately.
Do UAE intercity buses accept cash?
Some do, some never do. SRTA (Sharjah), Ajman Transport and RAKTA accept cash — usually at a higher fare than their cards — and RAKTA also sells tickets at station counters and in the Sayr app. RTA buses and Abu Dhabi buses accept no cash at all: you must tap a Nol or Hafilat card respectively, so buy and top up the card before you travel.
Which bus station do I use in Dubai for Abu Dhabi?
You have three choices, all at similar fares: Al Ghubaiba (E100) for Bur Dubai and Deira, Ibn Battuta (E101) for the Marina, JLT and Jebel Ali side — the fastest run at about 1 hour 45 minutes — and Al Jafiliya (E102) if you need Zayed International Airport or Mussafah. All three are compared in our Dubai to Abu Dhabi bus guide.
Is there a bus from the UAE to Oman?
Yes — one scheduled intercity service: Mwasalat (Oman’s national operator) route 203 runs from Sharjah’s Al Jubail Bus Station to Azaiba in Muscat for OMR 10 one way, about 8 hours including the Khatmat Malaha border crossing. Carry your passport and check Oman’s entry requirements before travelling; full detail is in our Sharjah to Muscat bus guide.
Related Guides
- Dubai Bus Guide: Routes, Stations & Nol Card
- Abu Dhabi Bus Guide: Routes, Stations & Hafilat Card
- Sharjah Bus Routes & Timings: Complete Guide
- Ajman Bus Guide: Routes, Timings & Fares
- Dubai to Abu Dhabi Bus: E100, E101 & E102
- Dubai to Sharjah Bus: All E-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.