The Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) in Dubai has announced the launch of an integrated platform to monitor and manage flexible mobility operations, in cooperation with strategic partners and service providers.
The platform aims to promote sustainable mobility using artificial intelligence technologies as part of its endeavor to translate the directives of the wise leadership in supporting the leadership of the Emirate of Dubai among the smartest cities in the world, and in implementation of the UAE’s vision to occupy a leading position in the field of artificial intelligence globally by 2031.
Hussein Al-Banna, Executive Director of the Strategy and Corporate Governance Sector at the Roads and Transport Authority, said: “This platform is considered one of the most important initiatives of the unified control center at the Roads and Transport Authority, which contributes to improving the level of services, smooth mobility for users, and ensuring security and safety. The platform also contributes to the preparation of technical studies as well as Supporting the integration of multiple modes of transport, which provides an integrated and smooth journey for users of various modes of transport, and guarantees security and safety for all on the roads in the Emirate of Dubai.”
Al-Banna added, “The flexible mobility monitoring and management platform will link the systems of service providers and the systems of the unified control center. In the first phase, 5 flexible mobility service providers have been linked, including 4 shared electric scooter operators and an operator of shared electric bikes.”
Al-Banna indicated that the shared electric scooter operators operate more than 2,500 electric scooters in 21 regions (11 new regions were expanded during the first quarter of 2023), and they achieved more than one million rides through the shared scooter service during the year 2022. In addition to 1,750 shared bicycles distributed in 28 regions in the Emirate of Dubai, more than 1.3 million shared bicycle trips were recorded during the year 2022.
Al-Banna stressed the importance of the role of the platform in monitoring and managing the operations of flexible means of transportation in various regions of the emirate simultaneously, which contributes to improving performance and enhancing traffic safety on the lanes and paths designated for pedestrian and bicycle crossing, and ensuring the extent of adherence to the geographical scope specified for each provider, and the numbers allowed in each area. Monitoring speeds and issuing alerts in the event of violations, and monitoring the rates of use of these means in order to support the system of flexible movement and the first and last mile and to enhance the emirate’s leading role in the file of artificial intelligence and environmental sustainability.
It is noteworthy that the RTA has implemented several initiatives to enhance the experience of individuals in using individual means of individual transportation, most notably: bicycle paths, the length of which increased from 9 km only in 2006 to 544 km in 2022. (2017-2022) from 10.6 km to 14.45 km per 100,000 population. There are also future plans to increase these tracks to 833 km by 2026, with the aim of making Dubai a bicycle-friendly city, according to the strategy launched by His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of the Executive Council, in 2021.
The flexible mobility plan set by the RTA aims to redesign the road network in the various regions to accommodate all the requirements of flexible mobility. The RTA has implemented this initiative in 3 different areas in the emirate (Al Qusais First / Al Mankhool / Al Karama), which has increased the rate of bicycle use in Al Qusais by 100%, and the percentage of pedestrian satisfaction reached an average of 87% in the areas implementing flexible mobility. There is a plan to cover an additional 31 regions over the next five years.
The authority has developed the infrastructure around mass transit stations, implementing infrastructure improvements around 30 different mass transit stations in the emirate, with the aim of facilitating access to these stations using sustainable means of transportation, and this has contributed to increasing the number of public transport users from 461 million in 2021 to 621 million in 2022. It is planned to cover 32 more stations by 2027.
The RTA continues to implement various initiatives to ensure the highest level of safety and comfort for users of flexible transportation, and to ensure integration with mass transportation and important landmarks, to enhance the role of flexible transportation in first and last mile trips and short trips.
The authority also worked to issue Executive Council Resolution No. 13 of 2022 regarding regulating the use of bicycles in the Emirate of Dubai, determining the speed on each of the lanes and dealing with it in a flexible manner according to the region and time, and providing a plate and numbering for each shared scooter.
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