Key figures (as of October 2026)
| Dubai cycling tracks, end of 2025 | 636 km, up from 560 km at end-2024 |
| Dubai target | 1,000 km by 2030 |
| Cycling trips in Dubai, 2025 | 57.3 million, up 23.5% on 2024 |
| Abu Dhabi Island bicycle path network | 1,266 km (2024), with projects running to 2028 |
| Copenhagen cycle paths, 2025 | 401 km; 43% of trips to work or study are by bike |
| Dubai in the 2025 global cycling-friendliness index | Top 100 (85th), the first Middle East city to enter |
The scale of the UAE build-out
Ten years ago few would have named the Gulf alongside northern Europe in a conversation about cycling. The numbers now make that comparison reasonable.
Dubai finished 2025 with 636 km of cycling tracks, an increase of 76 km in a single year. Use is rising faster than length. Cycling trips grew from 46.6 million in 2024 to 57.3 million in 2025, and cyclist satisfaction with the infrastructure reached 85%. About 22.3% of residents now live with direct access to the network. In March 2026, 13 of 15 tracks in a 162 km master plan were completed. They connect corridors from Al Khawaneej to Al Mamzar Beach, from Al Warqa'a to Saih Al Salam, and from DIFC to Jumeirah.
The next phase brings signature infrastructure. A 13.5 km cycling and e-scooter corridor along Hessa Street links Al Sufouh to Dubai Hills. Its 528 m bridge across Sheikh Zayed Road opened in August 2026, and a 501 m bridge across Al Khail Road is part of the same corridor. The corridor is designed for about 5,200 users an hour. Further bridges of 816 m and 719 m will cross Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Road and the Dubai – Al Ain Road, joining up communities that major highways once separated.
Abu Dhabi reported 1,266 km of bicycle paths on Abu Dhabi Island in 2024. New corridors are under way along key boulevards, and programmes are scheduled through 2028. A dedicated platform, Bike Abu Dhabi, promotes cycling as transport, sport and recreation together.
How they compare
Copenhagen, often cited as the world's model cycling city, had 401 km of cycle paths in 2025, with 43% of all journeys to work and education made by bike. In the 2025 global cycling-friendliness index, Utrecht ranked first, Copenhagen second and Amsterdam fourth.
On raw network length, Dubai's 636 km is already larger than Copenhagen's, and the network reported for Abu Dhabi Island is larger still. The comparison needs context. Copenhagen is a compact municipality with a long-established cycling culture, while Dubai and Abu Dhabi cover far larger areas with a hot climate for part of the year. The European leaders still win on everyday modal share, the proportion of trips made by bike. The UAE's achievement is to have built the backbone first. Usage figures show residents are steadily adopting it, especially in the cooler months and for first- and last-mile trips to metro stations.
International recognition has followed. In the 2025 edition of the leading global cycling-friendliness index, Dubai entered the top 100 cities in the world at 85th place. It was the first city in the Middle East to do so.
Scenarios: will Dubai reach 1,000 km by 2030?
Dubai needs to add roughly 73 km a year from end-2025 to reach the target. It added 76 km in 2025. Probabilities are the Centre's analytical estimates.
How this resolves: the answer is the first calendar year whose official year-end figure for Dubai's cycling-track network is 1,000 km or more. A year-end figure of exactly 1,000 km counts as reaching the target. If a published figure has decimals, it is rounded half up to the nearest whole kilometre before the comparison. The five bands are whole calendar years, so every possible year falls in exactly one band. If by 31 December 2033 no official figure has shown the network at 1,000 km or more and the figure for 2032 shows it below 1,000 km, the forecast resolves to the last band. If by then no official figure has shown the network at 1,000 km or more and no figure for 2032 has been published, the forecast is withdrawn. The average yearly additions quoted below are the Centre's own calculation from the 364 km still needed after end-2025.
Scenarios revised on 30 October 2026 to a finer split.
Well ahead, 2028 or sooner
Reaching 1,000 km by end-2028 would need about 121 km a year, around 1.6 times the 2025 addition. Several large corridors and bridges would all have to finish early at the same time, so the weight is small.
Early arrival, 2029
Large corridor projects such as Hessa Street and the new bridges, together with model-neighbourhood programmes, lift annual additions to about 91 km. The target is then met a year early. This is about 1.2 times the 2025 pace, a stretch but within reach, so it takes most of the early-arrival weight.
On target, 2030
Additions stay close to the 2025 pace of 76 km, at between about 73 and 90 km a year, driven by neighbourhood tracks and road-project corridors. The 1,000 km mark is reached in 2030 as planned. This is the base case because it only requires sustaining the 2025 rate.
Slightly later, 2031
Complex bridge works and integration with other road projects stretch timelines a little. An average of about 61 km a year would still reach 1,000 km in 2031, so only a modest slowdown from the 2025 pace lands here. This is the more likely of the later outcomes.
Later, 2032 or after
Additions fall back towards the network's long-run pace. Growth from 6 km in 2009 to 636 km at end-2025 averaged about 39 km a year, which would push the target well beyond 2031. Even in this case Dubai would be one of the largest urban cycling networks in the world. The weight reflects the longer build times typical of large bridge structures, set below 2031 because recent additions are about twice the long-run average.
What to watch
- Annual network-length updates: whether 2026 additions match or beat 2025's 76 km.
- Opening of the Hessa Street corridor and the major bridges: these unlock cross-city routes.
- Trip numbers: continued double-digit growth in cycling trips would confirm rising everyday use.
- Abu Dhabi programme milestones: new corridors on the mainland and in Al Ain and Al Dhafra.
- The next global cycling-friendliness ranking: whether Dubai climbs and Abu Dhabi enters.
Figures as of October 2026. Probabilities are analytical estimates by the Ghaf Centre for Studies & Research.