RTA constructs 100 air-conditioned smart bus shelters for Dubai commuters

The Roads and Transport Authority, RTA, constructed 100 air-conditioned smart shelters for public bus riders, covering more than 15 districts across the Emirate of Dubai. The first of these smart shelters was launched by the RTA in February this year.

The project was developed under public private partnership, PPP.

"Initial indicators had shown numerous results, including an increase in the number of smart shelter users, compared to the normal air-conditioned bus shelters. The users expressed a great deal of satisfaction that rose from (74 percent) to (91 percent) since the inauguration of the project earlier this year, thanks to the smart shelters. The number of different transactions done in the smart buses reached 25,000 till the end of mid-2016," said Abdullah Yousef Al Ali, CEO of Public Transport Agency, RTA.

"Constructing 100 air-conditioned smart shelters contributes to one of RTA’s core goals, which is people’s happiness, as they encourage the public to use means of mass transit in Dubai and they contribute to transforming Dubai to the world’s smartest city. The underlying objective of these smart shelters is to upgrade public transport facilities and services through transforming them into smart elements, capable of maximising the satisfaction and happiness of various community segments, especially public transport riders," Al Ali added.

"The smart shelters provide an array of services for public bus riders, including free Wi-Fi that the UAE offered in collaboration with Du, the Emirates Integrated Telecommunications Company, selling and recharging of electronic ticketing card, the NOL cards, mobile phone top-ups, payment of government bills, recharging mobile phones, passenger information service, self-service kiosks, interactive media screens, monitors displaying information about RTA services, and the selling of refreshments and snacks," he said.

"The RTA has charted out a timeline for constructing smart air-conditioned bus shelters, distributed over 15 districts in Dubai. This initiative is an integral part of an ongoing process for improving the infrastructure of these facilities and services in a spectacular and creative style to achieve multi-model integration with public transit means such as the metro and tram. Designated for waiting public bus riders, the smart air-conditioned bus shelter initiative is part of the Smart City initiatives called for by our prudent government," he added.

Al Ali reiterated the RTA’s unwavering commitment to provide state-of-the-art facilities for public transport users in the emirate and contribute effectively to realising the objective of transforming Dubai into the smartest city in the world according to the Dubai Government plan.