Introduction
The 101 bus route in Abu Dhabi serves a corridor through central Abu Dhabi, Rabdan, Mohamed Bin Zayed City and the Dalma Mall area. The official timetable PDF dated 20 March 2026 shows regular trips between Al Danah / Capital Park and Abu Dhabi Industrial City / Dalma Mall Main Entrance, with some trips showing different starting or ending patterns.
Read the destination on the particular bus you intend to use. The route number alone does not prove that every 101 trip runs through every stop in the PDF. This is especially useful for an early or late journey, when a shortened or extended trip can affect where you board.
Important areas and stops on Route 101
The official 101 timetable gives the full stop list and individual journeys. Use it to locate your own stop instead of treating the landmarks below as a complete list. A stop near a mall or hospital may also have a separate name in the reverse direction.
| Part of the corridor | Examples from the published stop list |
|---|---|
| Central Abu Dhabi | Capital Park and Hamdan Bin Mohammed Street |
| Al Nahyan | Abu Dhabi Bus Station and Al Jazeera Sports Club |
| Rabdan | Khaleej Al Arabi Street / Bus Interchange |
| MBZ City | Capital Mall and Mazyad Mall |
| Al Manhal Street | Burjeel Medical City and Al Ain University |
| Industrial City | Dalma Mall West and Dalma Mall Main Entrance |
Some listed journeys use Al Reef stops, while others follow the Capital Park pattern. Match the exact column and bus destination for your trip. Do not extend the timetable of one starting point to another simply because both appear in the same route document.
How to choose the right 101 departure
- Select the direction and day. Begin with the relevant page of the official PDF or a travel-day journey search. A timetable for the opposite direction will not tell you when the bus reaches your boarding stop.
- Find your boarding row. Use the full stop name rather than only the district. The time at Capital Park or Dalma Mall can differ from the time at a stop farther along the corridor.
- Follow one trip column. Read down that column to check the destination and scheduled arrival. If the column does not serve your alighting stop, select another trip or a different connection.
- Confirm the bus display at the stop. Compare its destination with the journey you selected before boarding. This last check can reveal a short-working service or a route pattern different from the one you expected.
Use the PDF’s 20 March 2026 date to identify the publication, then recheck current service information for a diversion or later change. Leave a walking margin before the listed stop time. An arrival estimate on your phone should not encourage an unsafe rush across a road.
Hafilat fare and tapping
Use a Hafilat card with sufficient balance for the Abu Dhabi local bus journey. Tap when boarding and again when alighting, and check that the reader records each action. The system uses those journey records to calculate the applicable fare rather than treating every ride as an identical short city trip.
Abu Dhabi Mobility’s published standard-service fare is AED 2 for boarding plus 5 fils per kilometre, capped at AED 5 under the stated journey conditions. Check the current fare and transfer rules before combining buses. A Dubai nol card and its pass are separate from Hafilat.
If the balance is too low, top up through a supported Hafilat channel before relying on the next departure. Keep the card accessible until you leave the bus so you can record the final tap. A top-up receipt should not be confused with a completed bus check-in.
Connections and common route mistakes
Route 101 shares parts of the broader corridor with the 102 bus service, but their endpoints and individual trips differ. Choose using your actual destination rather than boarding whichever matching-looking bus appears first. A hospital, university or mall on the route should be checked by its own entrance and stop.
For an onward visit to Musaffah Bus Station, find the current transfer and final station location. A bus stopping in the wider industrial area is not necessarily stopping at that named terminal. The same approach helps with a Hamdan Street visit, where the final building can be some distance from a familiar landmark.
Do not use an old first-and-last time without identifying the origin stop and service pattern. Late trips can have a different destination from daytime services in the same PDF. Read the trip you will actually board and keep an alternative in mind if the last suitable connection is close.
Final thoughts
Use the 101 timetable by direction, stop row and trip column, then confirm the bus destination before boarding. With Hafilat ready and the final stop checked, the route becomes easier to use for a real journey across central Abu Dhabi and the MBZ–Dalma Mall corridor.
Featured graphic: original UAERoutes diagram. Service information checked 4 October 2026 against the provider’s published information.
