Roads & Transport Authority - News Details

HE Mattar Al Tayer, Director-General, Chairman of the Board of Executive Directors of the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) said, “Under the leadership of HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, Dubai has become the ultimate destination for shaping the future of mobility worldwide. As His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum has said,   “We moved from predicting the future to shaping it.” 

Al Tayer made these remarks during a speech delivered at the World Government Summit about the role of the private sector in shaping the future of mobility. In his speech, Al Tayer screened the trendy mobility patterns worldwide, drivers of these trends, and touched on challenges associated with the implementation of new policies. He also reviewed the role of public and private sectors in overcoming such challenges facing the future of mobility. 

“Three main elements are marking the global transition of transportation namely: the need for improved safety and security, shorter transit time associated with the availability of affordable mobility services & options that meet customer needs, and the establishment of sustainable transport systems. There are five key modes and trends in the future of mobility: driverless transport, and emerging transit modes (such as the Hyperloop, Air Taxi). The future trends also include shared mobility, smart enablers (such as AI and Big Data that assist the introduction of future modes), and sustainable mobility (including Electric and hybrid vehicles)” noted Al Tayer. 

Mobility Challenges

“Several challenges are confronting the future of mobility such as customizing the modern modes to different conditions and environments, understanding the impact of advanced systems on urban planning, providing the required funding, and offering advanced modes of transport at affordable rates to the public. Challenges also include ensuring the smooth transition from conventional transit means to advanced modes and enhancing the public-private partnership. 

“To overcome these challenges, governments must lead the journey into the future of mobility by setting out appropriate strategies and clear targets for the transition drive. They also need to develop legislation and policies required for the success of the transition process, provide the infrastructure required for the future mobility modes, educate and encourage the public to accept future mobility trends, and address safety, security and privacy issues of these new mobility systems. 

“The UAE government has launched the UAE Strategy for the Future, and the RTA is contributing to the delivery of this Strategy through four aspects: infrastructure and transport, financial resources, technology & smart systems, and environmental sustainability.” 

“The private sector and research centres are key elements in leveraging and shaping the future of mobility. They have to stand hand-in-hand with governments in the introduction of modern systems that meet the needs of cities and communities. They are also required to commission in-depth research about the new technologies and emerging modes and carry out adequate testing to verify the safety & reliability of new systems. Additionally, they are required to allow governments sufficient time to carry out tests, and issue the necessary accreditations and certifications before starting the commercial operation of the new systems,” added Al Tayer. 

Future Enablers

“Providing the appropriate infrastructure is one of the most important future enablers. For instance, the operation of the Air Taxi requires landing pads in various parts of the city integrated with other conventional transit means. The Hyperloop requires the custom-built routes and tubes for this superfast mode, and the road-lane width might change in case of an increase in the number of self-driving vehicles. The Autonomous Pods may require larger passenger loading and unloading zones near catchment areas to lift riders directly. There is also a need for tailor-made legislation for the operating and regulating each future transit means,” noted Al Tayer.

“The public sector has embarked on developing a host of policies in support of future mobility to cover the integration between the existing systems, and modern transport means, such as the online booking of vehicles policy, and supporting startups policy. There are policies in support of modern transit means such as the dedicated bus lanes (Bus Rapid Transit service), and fares of modern transit modes. 

The third enabler of Future Mobility is Artificial Intelligence or AI. The RTA applies AI in a series of projects and initiatives such as the automated train control system, the smart monitor system that detects fatigue of bus drivers, and the trial run of the driverless bus, and the improvement of customers’ experience. RTA also uses Big Data in supporting innovation and paves the way for assuming a leading role in mobility worldwide. Examples include the Enterprise Command and Control Center, which processes more than 70 m records per day, and the Smart Decision Taking Support Centre; which processes 2.9 billion mobility records. It also handles 6.5 million information about customers’ details, 400 million journey of taxicabs, and 200 million parking transactions,” he elaborated. 

Private Sector

“The private sector plays a vital role in driving the future of mobility. Therefore, the RTA is keen to cooperate with the private sector through a host of projects and initiatives. Examples of these include the integrated mobility platform (S’Hail); which enables clients access to all transit means in Dubai through a single window (smart app). S’Hail is the first platform world-wide that integrates the services of Public and Private Mobility Providers. 

“The RTA has also activated a comprehensive system for partnership with e-hail companies such as Uber and Careem. This partnership has slashed the time of dispatching a taxi or limo to the customer to as low as 4 minutes only, ensuring the highest safety level for taxi riders, and providing first and last-mile journeys for public transport riders. 

“Dubai encourages the modern Start-ups in all fields including mobility. Careem is an example of such start-ups which was launched in Dubai and now competes with international players such as UBER and others; which illustrates the competitiveness of Dubai in the finance and business fields. 

“The RTA is teaming with several partners to shape the future of mobility such as Dubai Future Foundation, startups as well as local and foreign universities. It has signed an agreement with Hyperloop One to start the preliminary study of the project, and the suitable route has been charted out. Negotiations are underway for phase 2 of the hyperloop project. 

“We also started the trial run of Autonomous Pods, buses on demand, and experimented the operation of the Autonomous Air Taxi for the first time worldwide in Sept 2017 in conjunction with the German Volocopter Company. Work is up-and-running in the launch of new initiatives such as shared mobility, smart vehicle plates, and blockchain technology. 

“Dubai offers unique enablers for making it the perfect destination for shaping the future of mobility. The Dubai Government offers a whole host of benefits to partnerships with the private sector. Examples include strong government support at all levels to upgrade and introduce the latest mobility technologies & means in Dubai and adopting cutting-edge technologies such as AI, machine learning. The agility of government performance also provides a strong engabler to keep pace with the global trends. It also provides the facilities needed for carrying out experiments and trials on new mobility modes, and endorses their use in the city,” concluded Al Tayer.