Dhs 300 fine for falling asleep in Dubai Metro

Watch your Zzzz while you ride on Dubai Metro, because if you doze off, you could get a rude awakening – and a fine.

As Gulf News reports, a US student, who visited her parents in Dubai recently, boarded Dubai Metro from Khalid Bin Waleed station. She dozed off and went past Ibn Battuta station where she was supposed to get off.

A ticketing inspector woke her up at Jebel Ali station, the last south-bound stop on the Red Line. Before she had the chance to regain her composure, she was handed a Dh300 fine.

A schedule of fines listed by the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) inside train stations does not specify people can be fined for sleeping on the train.

The general rule, however, states that a Dh300 fine will be slapped for “sleeping in the waiting areas, shelters or any place where it is prohibited“. Asked why people get fined for sleeping on the train, an RTA official gave a slightly different definition: “It is the rule … [no] sleeping in the waiting areas, shelters or any place in a public transport environment. Fine will be Dh300”.

The RTA has published a code defining 31 situations that invite fines ranging from Dh100 to Dh2,000, some of which are:

Dh2,000 – using security or safety system such as the emergency exits, unless it’s essential
Dh500 – damaging, sabotaging or tampering with the systems, equipment and seats of public transport means, facilities or services
Dh300 – Sleeping in passenger shelters or prohibited areas
Dh200 – carrying weapons, flammable articles or any hazardous material
Dh100 – Eating, chewing a gum, drinking, causing disturbance or carrying pets (except guide dogs)

So you pay more fine for sleeping in the Metro than carrying weapons abroad.

Such fines are not imposed anywhere else in the world, not even in countries like Japan or Singapore. However, one can not complain in Dubai as this is how the government earns its bread and butter.

Image is for illustration purpose only.