Guide To Easy Travel with Abu Dhabi’s Hafilat Card

The vibrant life of UAE’s capital, Abu Dhabi, stands on the shoulders of its strong public transport network. People in the city especially prefer travelling through buses. In this context of the city’s rising bus travels, enters the Hafilat card. Hafilat fare payment and Hafilat card recharge are extremely simple processes. Hafila, in Arabic, means a bus. The Hafilat card, thus, is the ticket to a bus! These travel passes help make cashless payments for your bus travels by electronically transferring the money. It isn’t the first time that such a technology has been used to facilitate public travels. The noI card of Dubai, E-Saqr card of Ras Al Khaimah and the Sayer card of Sharjah are some other examples. Consider this article a bus ride where we tour you through the nitty gritty of the Hafilat bus card. While an actual bus in Abu Dhabi would require you to punch the card and make the payment, we just need you to scroll down and get everything you need to know about the easy-to-use Hafilat card.

How Does the Hafilat Card Work?

The Department of Transport (DoT) introduced the card for Abu Dhabi in 2015. A Hafilat card electronically pays the travel fares. Applicable fare gets automatically deducted from the card’s balance as you scan it while entering and exiting the bus. Intercity, regional and suburb bus travel in Abu Dhabi can be swiftly made using this card. This simple and compact card comes in a beautiful white-coloured tone. Just like your credit cards, you can slide these into the pockets of your wallet and make them your daily driver. 

With a Hafilat bus card in your pocket, you can

• • Make quick payments
  • Save boarding time
  • Stop worrying about misplacing your tickets
  • And enjoy stress-free travel

Types Of Hafilat Cards

3 different types of Hafilat bus cards are available in Abu Dhabi. The choice of the card depends on one’s travel requirements. Take a look at these three categories to select the right card for yourself. 

1. Contactless Smart Ticket

The CST card is a temporary card. It is valid only for a month from the date of purchase. The card is available free of cost and a user is only required to credit it with the required balance. Tourists visiting Abu Dhabi for a few days can make use of this card and simplify their road travel

2. Permanent Hafilat Card

A permanent card comes in two versions – anonymous and permanent. The anonymous card is available for 5 AED while the permanent card is available for 10 AED. Both these cards come with a validity period of 5 years. Regular commuters, like employees, can save a lot of time using the permanent card.

3. Smart card for students, senior citizens and specially-abled

The transport authorities have designed a travel card specifically for students, senior and specially-abled citizens. The card is available for 5 AED and is valid for 5 years. 

How To Get a Hafilat Card in Abu Dhabi

Anonymous Hafilat bus cards are available through offline channels. These do not require any registration and can be straightaway availed from:

• • Ticket Vending Machines (TVMs)/ Kiosks at bus stations
  • Department of Municipalities and Transportation’s (DMT) customer care centres
  • Authorised sellers like shopping malls and convenience stores

Personalised Hafilat bus card seekers can register for the card on the Hafilat Darb website or via the Darbi mobile app. While registering, a customer will need to submit the following documents:

• • A valid UAE ID
  • Resident Visa
  • Student ID for student card seekers
  • Necessary medical certificate for specially-abled card seekers
  • A copy of the lease contract for senior citizen’s card seeker

• Hafilat Card Machine Locations

The card is easily available at the following locations in Abu Dhabi:

• • Shahama bus station
  • Bani Yas bus station
  • Ghayathi bus station
  • Mussafah bus station
  • Al-Ain bus station
  • Al-Sila bus station
  • Madinat Zayed bus station
  • Abu Dhabi International Airport

Hafilat Card Prices & Travel Rates

Bus travel using card will cost you the following amounts:

Hafilat Card Recharge Online

There are multiple ways to recharge a Hafilat bus card. The Hafilat card recharge facility is available at bus stations as well as the Darbi website. 

• Offline Hafilat Recharge Methods

The Ticket Vending Machines (TVMs), offline kiosks and authorised sellers offer Hafilat card recharge facilities. Recharge Devices installed in buses are another way of topping up your card offline. 

• Online Hafilat Recharge Process

If you do not wish to wait in queues at the TVMs, follow these simple steps and digitally top up your Hafilat bus card.

• • • Visit Darbi’s website – http://hafilat.darb.ae/
    • Select the recharge option. 
    • Enter your card details.
    • Select the recharge amount.
    • Click on ‘Add to Basket’ and proceed to pay. 
    • Enter your card/ other payment details and make the payment.

Customers will get a confirmation via text, call and/or email within 48 hours of digital Hafilat card recharge.

• Hafilat Card Balance Check Using TVMs

The balance of your Hafilat bus card can be checked at the Ticket Vending Machines (TVMs) or using the devices installed in the buses. Simply enter the card details and instantly check the available balance.

• Hafilat Card Balance Check Online

Customers can also carry out Hafilat Card balance checks using digital methods. Follow these simple steps to check your balance via the Darbi website.

• • Visit http://hafilat.darb.ae/
  • Select the ‘Recharge card’ option.
  • Enter the serial number of your card and proceed.
  • The portal will display the available balance in your Hafilat bus card.

Hafilat Card Passes 

The Hafilat bus card is also issued in the form of passes. Take a look at their different types.

• • T-Purse: The T-Purse is an electronic wallet which can be used while travelling in regional and intercity Abu Dhabi buses.
  • Weekly Pass: A weekly Hafilat bus pass is valid for 7 days. A pass holder can avail of unlimited bus trips for a week until the balance gets exhausted. 
  • Monthly Pass: A monthly Hafilat pass offers a validity of 30 days from the date of purchase. 
  • Passes for students, senior citizens and specially-abled: These passes are offered for a period of one year after submitting the appropriate documents. 

All these Hafilat passes are available easily at the Darbi website, TVMs, ticket office machines and Banknote reloader devices. Take a quick look at their charges below:

Conclusion

Travel cards are a welcome step towards modernising public commute. Such innovative solutions immensely improve the travel experience. With Hafilat cards, you can stay assured of comfortable and easy travels. It’s not just a simpler payment mechanism, but a modern and smarter way to travel. With this smart way of making payments, you’re ready to simply Punch and Go!

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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)