Dubai Metro’s ONPASSIVE Station Is Becoming Garmin: What Travellers Need to Know

Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority announced on 7 September 2026 that the Red Line station known as ONPASSIVE will become Garmin Metro Station. The change follows a 10-year naming-rights agreement made through AMIT Retail, Garmin’s distributor in the UAE.

For travellers, the commercial agreement matters less than the wayfinding. You may see “ONPASSIVE” in an older hotel message, saved Google result or attraction guide while the RTA app, a platform sign or a train announcement uses “Garmin”. Both can point to the same physical station during the transition.

Nothing in the announcement says the station is closing, moving or changing lines. Treat this as a label change across a working transport network. The practical job is simply to recognise both names until the rollout is complete.

RTA says updates will be made from September through the end of November 2026. That programme covers internal and external directional signs at Metro stations, digital smart systems, public-transport apps and onboard audio announcements before and upon arrival.

A transition this broad will not necessarily look identical everywhere on the same day. A newly updated app can coexist with an older screenshot; one sign may change before a nearby business updates its directions. That does not automatically mean you have found two different stations.

If you are travelling during these three months, search for the current Garmin name first but keep ONPASSIVE in mind as the former name. When sending directions to another traveller, write “Garmin Metro Station (formerly ONPASSIVE)” rather than choosing one label and hoping everyone’s map has caught up.

The station sits on Dubai Metro’s Red Line in the Al Quoz–Al Safa area. Long-time users may know it by several names. RTA’s own January 2021 publication recorded the change from Noor Bank to Al Safa, and the authority’s January 2023 announcement then changed Al Safa to ONPASSIVE. Garmin is the next label in that chain, which is why an old hotel PDF or a resident’s directions can sound wrong while still pointing to the correct physical stop.

That history explains why old directions can sound contradictory. A driver, archived blog or saved contact may say Noor Bank, Al Safa or ONPASSIVE. Current official wayfinding is moving to Garmin. The physical station and surrounding neighbourhood context are the common thread.

Do not navigate by brand name alone if the journey is important. Confirm that the result is on Dubai Metro’s Red Line and in the Al Quoz–Al Safa area before leaving your hotel. This small check is especially useful when a search engine serves an older cached listing.

I would reopen the journey in an official or current transport app on the day of travel. Screenshots are brilliant when mobile data disappears, but a screenshot made before the rename can preserve the former label and confuse someone who joins the trip later.

Keep the destination pin, the Red Line context and the station’s old and new names together. If a hotel, clinic, restaurant or tour operator sent instructions that say ONPASSIVE, ask whether Garmin is the updated label they now use. You are not asking them to redesign the journey; you are checking the name at the final Metro step.

For airport days, appointments and ticketed activities, allow a little extra recognition time. The rename itself does not justify a major buffer, but pausing on a platform to compare two names is far less stressful when you are not already cutting the departure fine.

Once inside the Metro, favour live official information over an old itinerary. Watch the line direction, current station display and onboard announcements. As the audio update rolls out, Garmin should replace ONPASSIVE before and upon arrival.

If one source still shows the old name, use the surrounding station sequence and the Red Line context to confirm you are on the intended journey. RTA says staff will be available during the transition to help with enquiries, so ask before passing the stop if the labels do not agree.

This is also a good reason not to wear noise-cancelling headphones at full isolation on an unfamiliar trip. Dubai Metro is easy to use, but a name transition rewards anyone who glances up at the display and listens for the stop rather than assuming a saved list will match word for word.

Station names often become meeting-point shorthand. During the rollout, a taxi driver, friend or venue host may use whichever name is familiar to them. Put both names in the message and share the live map pin when possible.

If you are meeting on a particular side of the station, keep the agreed exit or nearby landmark in the conversation as well. The RTA announcement concerns the station name; it does not announce a new exit layout or a relocated building. A precise pin is more useful than arguing over which brand is printed on whose screen.

For group travel, nominate one person to hold the current route and repeat the update in the group chat. “Meet at Garmin Metro Station, the former ONPASSIVE stop” is clear, compact and difficult to misread.

The 7 September announcement is about naming rights and wayfinding. It does not say that fares, nol card rules, train frequency, operating hours or the station’s Red Line service are changing because of the new name.

Those network details can still change for ordinary operational reasons, so check RTA’s current journey information when timing matters. Just keep the claims separate: Garmin is a confirmed station-name transition; it is not evidence of a new ticket product or a different Metro route.

Likewise, the 10-year naming agreement describes the commercial term. It does not guarantee that every third-party map, hotel website and printed guide will remain perfectly synchronised for a decade. Current official information should win whenever labels disagree.

One detail makes this rename unusually useful to understand rather than merely note: the rollout is happening in public. RTA’s 7 September announcement says signage, digital systems, public-transport apps and onboard audio are being updated progressively from September through the end of November 2026. On 11 September, RTA’s own online Metro and Tram stations map was still listing station code R29 as ONPASSIVE. That is not evidence that the Garmin announcement has been reversed; it is a real-time example of the staged transition RTA said travellers should expect.

So do not use a single screenshot as a truth test. If the RTA press release says Garmin but a station map, hotel PDF or saved route still says ONPASSIVE, compare the line, station code and surrounding journey. During a system-wide rename, different information surfaces can update on different days. The safest question is “Is this the same R29 Red Line stop?” rather than “Which of these two names must be wrong?”

This also explains why search results can be messy for a while. Commercial station names are used in directions, map listings, appointment messages and business websites far beyond RTA’s own systems. Those third parties have their own update cycles. For a time-sensitive trip, use RTA’s live journey-planning tools on the day and keep both names in your notes.

A station rename exposes a useful Dubai Metro habit: save enough context that your route survives a branded name change. For this stop, that means Garmin / former ONPASSIVE, Red Line, R29, Al Quoz–Al Safa area, plus the actual venue or address you are trying to reach. That bundle is much harder to misread than a note containing only “get off at ONPASSIVE”.

If the station is the final step to a meeting, clinic, gallery, restaurant or hotel transfer, keep the destination’s live map pin as well. Metro station names are excellent wayfinding anchors, but they are not destinations in themselves. A precise venue pin lets you confirm which side of Sheikh Zayed Road you need and avoids turning a naming change into a much larger navigation problem.

For groups, put the former and new names in one message until the transition is complete. Someone using an updated app may search Garmin while another traveller is reading an older itinerary that says ONPASSIVE. “Garmin Metro Station (formerly ONPASSIVE), Red Line R29” gives both people the same landmark without a long explanation.

Remembering both names is enough to remove most of the friction. Search Garmin, recognise ONPASSIVE, confirm the Red Line and Al Quoz–Al Safa location, then follow live RTA wayfinding. That is the whole trick.

Dubai’s branded station names can change as naming-rights agreements evolve, which means an old local recommendation may still be geographically correct even when its label has expired. Read the surrounding directions before dismissing the advice.

I would update any near-term Dubai itinerary now, especially if ONPASSIVE appears in airport transfers, appointments or meeting instructions. A thirty-second edit today can save the classic holiday moment of standing beside the correct train while wondering whether the correct station has vanished.