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RTA smart systems up performance, cut cost

The Automated Vehicle Movement designed to provide bus monitoring and tracking contributed to enhancing the communication between the control centre and bus drivers.

Dubai — The use of smart and electronic systems in public transport and taxi sectors at the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) has improved the integration of mass transit systems in Dubai.

“It contributed to increasing the efficiency and generating savings in excess of Dh200 million, increased bus compliance with timetables, and brought added happiness to customers. In 2014, bus compliance with on-time exiting of depots was as high as 99 per cent; Dubai taxis covered about two billion kilometres; and the average time of dispatching a taxi to customers was 13 minutes and 43 seconds,” said Mattar Al Tayer, Chairman of the Board and Executive Director of the RTA.

“The Automated Vehicle Movement (AVM), designed to provide bus monitoring and tracking in an area of about 83 million square metres, contributed to enhancing the communication between the control centre and bus drivers; monitoring the movement of 1,568 buses plying on 252 routes; increased the control of revenues; and reduced expenditure by over Dh200  million. It has also raised the customer satisfaction rating from 68 per cent in 2009 to 85 per cent in 2014, and reduced customer complaints from 500 in 2009 to eight in 2014.”

The system is linked to seven smart technologies and apps such as the fare system (NoL), screens displaying real-time information about bus movement, journey planner (Wojhati) app, scheduling system, and the cost accounting system, among others.

 Operation control centre

The bus operation control centre is fitted with 24 giant screens and has a capacity to deploy 22 employees per shift. Currently, 14 operators are on duty per shift. The centre has 27 employees and the Emiratisation rate is 26 per cent.

The centre works out timetables, conducts electronic monitoring of bus movement, and verifies the compliance with schedules, routes and timetables.

It measures the daily bus movement, ensures on-time bus departures and arrivals at stations, and acts appropriately to control the performance and enhance compliance with timetables. It also monitors the interfacing with RTA’s control centres and verifies the accuracy of the real-time passenger information system at Metro stations through 620 screens dotting Metro stations, bus stations, bus stops, airports and malls.

Booking and dispatch section

The booking and dispatch section at the Transportation Systems Department, Public Transport Agency, receives all taxi booking calls and arranges dispatches to Dubai Taxi and franchise companies applying specific parameters of place, speed and others in a specific time indicator.

The system compiles and produces periodic reports in respect of all franchise companies about the extent of compliance and implementation of the franchise agreement in terms of the number of trips executed, deployment and response speed, among others. -news@khaleejtimes.com