A total of 277.91 million people used Dubai's metro, buses and water taxis in the first half of 2018, slightly up from 275.24 million users a year ago, the Dubai transport authorities said Saturday.

Dubai Metro accounted for 37.17 percent of public transport users, followed by taxis with 31.61 percent and public buses with 27.48 percent, according to the Dubai Roads and Transport Authority (RTA).

The driver-less Dubai Metro Red and Green Lines carried 103.29 million passengers in the first half of 2018, compared with 100.56 million people in the same period last year.

The Dubai Tram, which connects the Dubai Marina district with Dubai Media City and Dubai Knowledge Park, recorded 3.21 million riders.

According to Mattar Al Tayer, director-general and chairman of the board of Executive Directors of the RTA, the share of public transport means in daily travel leapfrogged from 6 percent in 2006 to 16.4 percent in 2017.

The metro network is being expanded by the Route 2020 line, which will connect the city of Dubai with Expo 2020 district in the southwest of the emirate.

Dubai will host the first World Expo in the Arab world from October 2020 until April 2021.