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DTC to upgrade its GPS system

DUBAI - Dubai Transport Corporation taxis will soon be fully equipped with phone and Internet facilities, and sophisticated software is set to be installed to ensure efficient monitoring of fleet and mapping of locations within the emirate, an official from the Corporation told Khaleej Times on Sunday.

"The amount of the GSM phone and Internet fees will be calculated with the amount of the taxi fare during the trip. These facilities, along with other major upgrades, will be operational in the coming months," he said.

He disclosed that the Dubai Transport Corporation inked a Dh6 million deal with Raywood Communications on February 18 to upgrade the Corporation's Global Positioning Satellite (GPS) system and provide new software that will enable the Corporation to monitor its fleet and the fleet of its franchise taxi companies such as Cars, Metro and National taxis.

The upgrade of the GPS system will allow Dubai Transport to increase its type and nature of monitoring of its taxi fleet across the streets of Dubai, he explained. "Meanwhile, the mapping of streets will be upgraded thereby easing up the allocation of taxis in major locations in Dubai. There will also be a voice messaging system to inform the driver about a booking, including detailed instructions on the location. In addition, the taxis will also be equipped with a display screens which transmit visual advertisements," the official added.

The new software will likewise provide adequate information about the number of taxis in each location.

"The Corporation will be able to identify the number of taxis in Al Riqqa, Dubai Media City, Deira City Centre, for example," he said.

Meanwhile, the Dubai Transport Corporation's taxi operations has witnessed a 3.7 per cent increase during the Dubai Shopping Festival (DSF) 2004 as compared to the DSF 2003.

"There was a total of 1.75 million trips from January 15 to February 15 this year, while trips during the same period in 2003 totalled 1.675 million," he said.

A total of 500 taxis were stationed at the Global Village in the afternoon, and this number increased to 900 to 1,000 in the evenings during the festival. The corporation also operated direct bus trips from two stations located in Al Rolla and Al Wahda streets to the Global Village.

He added: "Our analysis showed that the taxis were evenly distributed in all major locations during the festival. There were no complaints filed by passengers in the Global Village and other locations. The DSF organising committee was pleased with our services, including our taxi operations at the Dubai International Airport. The passengers were satisfied with our credit card and DVD facilities inside our taxis."