Public transportation users will be able to use an NFC phone to purchase and store tickets for use on Dubai's subway, buses and water bus services from next week, courtesy of a new service developed by the emirate's Roads and Transport Authority (RTA).

Smart Nol mobile ticketing will be available to customers of two mobile network operators, Etisalat and Du. The launch follows a pilot test conducted last year.

The service is based on Dubai's existing Nol transit card, a stored value card that can be topped up with funds at ticket offices, ticket vending machines, sales agents and at RTA customer service centres. Customers wishing to use the service will be able to obtain an NFC SIM card at Etisalat locations and Du business centers from 29 September.

"We are providing this service for NFC-enabled mobile phone users via a special SIM card to use Nol services for public transport and in future for micropayments in UAE," Abdulla Ali Al Madani, the RTA's CEO says. "Customers will have similar experience to Nol cards and there is no major change in using it."

"Currently we have more than six million Nol cards and we are expecting good adaptation from our customer base since UAE has a good number of NFC-enabled handsets. By virtue of this pivotal service, you can use your NFC phone to check in and check out at the metro stations, public bus and water bus as well as reload and check your Nol balance", he added.