The Roads and Transport Authority in Dubai has comes up with a new minibus pooling service that is expected to be the next big thing in transport in the city. The service empowers passengers to share minibus rides through a dynamic booking system in smart apps as a milestone that advancing the city towards improving public transportation system.
The initiative which was launched in cooperation with three local and international public transport companies will first run through Deira with key interconnected points being Business Bay, Dubai Mall, Mirdif and Dubai Festival City. RTA has hinted that the service will continue with its expansion within the emirate in future therefore increasing the coverage area.
Ahmed Hashim Bahrozyan, CEO of RTA’s Public Transport Agency, emphasised the initiative’s role in reducing reliance on private vehicles, saying “The idea is to attract new segments of the community since this transport option is significantly faster and more convenient compared to vehicles owned by individuals. It will also practically help to make traffic less congested on the city’s roads.”
Minibus Service Can Be Booked Via Three Apps
Public bus service’s new form of transport, bus pooling, is completely in contrast with regular public buses in the sense that they do not have specific routes they follow. However, passengers can only access the service through demand with three Intelligent Applications, these being the Citylink Shuttle, DrivenBus, and the Fluxx Daily.
It will involve three firms where each will be responsible in handling 20 minibuses in a way that it will provide flexibility needed by the passengers. The minibuses will have carrying capacities of 13-30 passengers and will be used to provide dynamic fares according to the distance travelled and the passenger demand. This comes in handy since commuters are able to choose one trip or subscribe to the service on a weekly or even monthly basis.
Bahrozyan explained the broader strategic vision behind the initiative: “This initiative would come in handy to ensure that passengers seek services within licensed transports in order to eliminate use of unlicensed service providers. It also supports RTA’s strategic plan in terms of integration as well as innovation in mobility and the futurism of sustainable transportation.
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He also discussed the prospects of technological development stressing that the on demand nature of the service helps to follow the trends in public transportation across the world. “This project is very much in line with the RTA vision and mission of providing safe, swift, economical and comfortable transportation on-demand services which have the potential to dissuade the use of personal automobiles on our roads,” he said.
The service complements RTA’s larger strategic plan for making Dubai’s transport more efficient and environmental friendly, not only relying on conventional public transport services but also are integrated with technological solutions.
Other news are that RTA in conjunction with TruKKer, the digital freight marketplace, has launched a digital logistics platform called Logisty with support from the private sector. Accordingly, the services it is targeted to offer include commercial transportation for transport clientele or businesses, effective logistics and commercial vehicle fleet management, on-demand booking and tracking solutions among others.