On April 1, The National reported the announcement of 26 new bus routes within the city and the rerouting of two by the Abu Dhabi Department of Transport.

"This step represents a link in the chain of infrastructure development of the public transport services, which is considered the most commonly used method of transport," said General Manager of DoT Mohammed Nasser Al Otaiba.

The new routes include bus services from the city to Dalma Mall — the biggest shopping mall in Abu Dhabi — in the Mussafah region, Mohammed bin Zayed City, ICAD Residential City, Masdar City, Al Wathba Souq, Al Jadeedah, Al Falah and Abu Dhabi University. Buses stop only at designated stops within the city, and a full list of service routes can be found here.

Bus fares are two dirhams within the city and five to suburban areas. The nearest bus station that caters to NYU Abu Dhabi students is the Abu Dhabi Central Bus Station near Al Wahda Mall; the cab ride from Sama Tower costs an average of eight dirhams.

The DoT now offers customers the prepaid cards. The Ojra Weekly Bus Card and the Ojra Monthly Bus Card allow customers to use unlimited bus services at the cost of 30 AED and 80 AED respectively. The Hafilat Annual Ojra Card is available only for students and allows a year of unlimited bus services for 500 AED. The Reaya Ojra Card allows senior citizens with special needs an unlimited number of bus services on all routes within Abu Dhabi for no cost.

Buses depart every 40 minutes from all terminals at the airport, as well as from the Cargo Building and the Police Complex. This service runs 24 hours a day and costs four dirhams, with transport time taking an average of 45 minutes depending on the time of the day and the traffic in the city. The route ends at the bus stop on Al Nasr street, which is near the university’s Downtown Campus.

The Central Bus Station also caters to bus service routes within the UAE. Bus services costing 25 AED depart every half hour from 6 am until 11:30 p.m. for both Dubai's Al Ghubaiba Bus Stop and Sharjah's Central Bus Stop — stopping at Sharjah's City Center en route. A special Dubai Road and Transportation Agency bus also departs from the Central Bus Station every 15 minutes for Deira City Center in Dubai costing 20 AED.

The DoT recently introduced the Nol Card, a smart card which allows customers to pay for any RTA bus service, metro rail service or ferry service within and out of Dubai.