I rode the Dubai Metro in a first-class cabin - and it was the best subway ride I've ever had

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Benjamin Zhang/Business Insider

• The Dubai Metro operates trains with three different classes of service; Silver Class, Women and Children Only, and Gold Class.
• Silver Class is the regular service while Gold Class is the metro equivalent of first class.
• Gold Class costs more but offers amenities such as individual seating.

Every day, I depend on New York and New Jersey's aging public transportation network to get me to work and back. Over the years, the lack of investment compounded by ever-increasing ridership has left the system in tatters leading to operational headaches and angry passengers. I'm looking at you MTA, New Jersey Transit, and Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.

So I found it rather refreshing to experience the recently constructed metro system in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. In fact, the Dubai Metro has something I had never encountered before, a first-class cabin. Or as the Dubai Roads and Transport Authority calls it, Gold Class.

Like first class on any train or airliner, Gold Class buys you extra room and amenities. However, it comes at a price. In this case, roughly double what someone would typically pay to ride in the metro's standard cabin.

Since Dubai's metro system is arranged into multiple zones, the cost of a ride can vary significantly. A ride on the metro in the standard Silver class within a zone could cost a little as 3 Dirhams or $0.81. On the other hand, a single ride Gold Class ticket valid to cross all zones costs as much as 19 Dirhams or $5.13.

Here's a closer look at my experience on the Dubai Metro's Gold Class.