Press Releases
May 06 2015
RTA honors winners of Energy and Green Economy Award as trial run of electric bus starts
The award is intended to show recognition and appreciation of contributions made by winners through submitting cracking ideas and presenting fine practices capable of leveraging the green economy concept, and saving energy.
In the meantime, Al Tayer inaugurated the trial operation of the electric bus which is powered by batteries as one of the unique initiative at the regional level launched in support of sustainable development plans of public transport systems with the aim of conserving natural resources, and protecting the environment from pollution.
The ceremony, which was held at Al Wasl Auditorium of the RTA, was attended by a host of Directors of departments, entities, as well as contracting & consultancy offices and CEOs of the RTA.
Al Tayer decorated the award winners and presenting them with Green Fronds trophies. The Dubai Municipality won the Energy and Green Economy Award in the Strategic Partners category in recognition of the extraction of methane gas from waste project. Emirates Driving Institute won RTA’s Customers category through the Implementation of the Green Buildings Standards initiative. RTA’s Rail Agency won the Best Project category for the Dubai Tram, and also clinched the Best RTA’s Sector / Agency award in recognition of the Noise and Vibration project. Kaleem Allah won the Energy & Green Economy Award for individuals in appreciation of the Irradiated Diode at four locations project. Al Tayer also decorated the Chairperson and Members of Energy and Green Economy Award’s Judging Panel at the RTA.
“The launching of the Energy and Green Economy Award conforms to the national initiative launched by HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, in 2012 under the theme: A Green Economy for a Sustainable Development. It encompassed six tracks; green energy, government policies, green city, coping with the impacts of climatic changes, green life, and the green technology. The Award is also viewed as implementation of the fifth strategic goal of the RTA i.e. enhancing safety and environmental sustainability,” said Al Tayer.
“The RTA has rolled out several initiatives concerned with the conservation of the environment such as the clean energy and green buildings. Among the pioneering projects the RTA boasts of are the Dubai Metro and Dubai Tram projects; which rank amongst the top mass transit projects worldwide. Both are electricity-powered and have reduced the use of private vehicles; which in turn would lead to curbing carbon emissions in Dubai city, and help achieve the ultimate objective ensuring safety and environmental sustainability for future generations.
Studies commissioned by the RTA about the carbon footprint of the Dubai Metro proved that the amount of harmful carbon emissions was reduced by 60 thousand tons in 2014, and the forthcoming years will witness further reductions as a result of the rising numbers of the metro riders; which will bring about a string of health & environmental benefits to the city. The water saving initiative in the Dubai Metro covering both the Red & Green Lines has contributed to reducing water usage by as much as 30%.
“The RTA has made a successful launch of the trial run of hybrid eco-friendly vehicles in 2008 and is pondering beefing up the fleet of hybrid vehicles every year. These vehicles are have low carbon emissions amounting to 30% less than emissions of other vehicles, and the RTA has operated electric abras in Dubai Creek featuring a light body of fiberglass which can reduce carbon emission as they generate no harmful gases such as carbon dioxide; which is normally associated with the use of diesel and causes higher noise levels contrary to the quiet electricity-powered abras. The smart and electronic transition in delivering RTA’s services has saved time, money and efforts in addition to the use of paper during transactions. For instance the smart and e-services in 2014 contributed to saving about seven million papers; which is equivalent to the saving of 213 trees. Moreover, the smart and e-services have reduced the wasted kilometers by 14 million km, and saved fuel in as much as 1.4 million liters,” explained Al Tayer
RTA Chairman of the Board and Executive Director revealed that the RTA embarked on the tentative installation of LED lights; which are highly efficient and save electric power. In its strategic plan, the RTA is envisaging the transformation of all street lights to LED technology by 2030; which will further reduce the carbon footprint by more than 3000 tons per annum.
15 million
Abdul Mohsen Ibrahim Younes, CEO of Strategy & Corporate Governance Sector and Chairperson of the Green Economy Award, said: “The Award, which was launched in 2013 has witnessed the addition of the individuals category in its 2nd edition, bringing the number honored categories to 5 in order to encourage all RTA employees to adopt the best practices in energy and green economy field. The 2nd edition of the Award has also included energy concepts, as reflected in the new name of the Award: "Energy and Green Economy Award" rather than “Green Economy Award”.
Younes added: “In 2014, the RTA rolled out about 32 initiatives to save energy and 8 initiatives to support the green economy. These initiatives contributed to reducing carbon footprint and achieved estimated savings of AED 15 million. The RTA’s efforts were culminated by winning BGreen Award as the most sustained regional public entity in 2014.”
Electric bus
Al Tayer kicked off the test run of electric bus powered by batteries, which can be charged up to 80% in less than 30 minutes. When fully charged, the electric bus can travel a distance of 200 km, at an estimated speed of about 100 kilometers per hour.
The RTA will tentatively operate electric buses to evaluate their environmental benefits, measure carbon emissions, the distance covered with fully charged battery, bus speed, battery lifespan, and bus adaptability to weather conditions in the UAE, especially during the summer season. The test run will also assess the engine efficiency and maintenance cost among others. On the bases of these results the RTA will decide on the next step.
