Dubai automates public transport management

Dubai’s Roads & Transport Authority (RTA) is keen on using cutting-edge technology to control and manage the movement of its mass transit systems, including buses. With the aim of providing advanced services to mass transit users in the Emirate, the Public Transport Agency implemented integrated intelligent systems solutions including the Automated Vehicle Management (AVM) system, which links both the internal and inter-city routes. According to Adel Shakeri, Director of Transportation Systems, RTA Public
October 17, 2012 Read time: 2 mins
6700 Dubai's Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) is keen on using cutting-edge technology to control and manage the movement of its mass transit systems, including buses. With the aim of providing advanced services to mass transit users in the Emirate, the Public Transport Agency implemented integrated intelligent systems solutions including the Automated Vehicle Management (AVM) system, which links both the internal and inter-city routes.

According to Adel Shakeri, Director of Transportation Systems, RTA Public Transport Agency, the AVM system monitors the efficiency and performance of public buses in operation deployed on internal routes in Dubai, as well as those linking Dubai with other Emirates, and monitors their movement via sophisticated satellite-linked navigational systems connected with the bus control centre which is running 24/7 to provide full support to buses.

Each bus is being tracked to verify its on-time operation; drivers receive text messages to inform them of their schedule. The system offers three communication channels with the driver: voice communication, text messages and emergency contact. The system makes it easier for the driver as the driver’s monitor displays the scheduled route. The system also plays a crucial role in interfacing with other systems such as Nol Card system, and the real time passenger information (RTPI) system featuring 114 monitors deployed in the metro stations, public bus stations and several locations around Dubai.

Shakeri added, “The AVM system plays a pivotal role in transforming the planned trips timetables into realistic schedules meeting the needs of public bus commuters. Statistics recorded by the system for the period 2009 -2011 indicate that bus adherence to timetables rocketed from 16 per cent to 80.5 per cent, and the number of cancelled trips plummeted from 13 per cent to 0.8 per cent, which resulted in a drastic fall in the number of complaints filed by customers from 500 to only four complaints per month. It also contributed to reducing the number of kilometers done by 4 million km per month; which resulted in a reduction in environmental pollution in Dubai.”

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • I-80 Smart Corridor sets the ITS standard for California's Bay Area
    March 23, 2015
    Colin Sowman looks at California’s ‘smartest’ road which will open this spring to counter congestion and accidents on one of the Bay Area’s busiest interstates. Interstate 80 (I-80) is one of the busiest roads in the San Francisco Bay area with up to 270,000 vehicles using the corridor every day. The section between the Carquinez Bridge in Crockett and the Bay Bridge not only suffers congestion during the working week but also at weekends. Traditional remedies such as building additional lanes (there are al
    Read More
  • Chicago implements new bus management technology
    May 13, 2015
    Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) is implementing a new technology designed to reduce delays and provide a more consistent and reliable bus service. The Bus Transit Management System (BTMS) provides real-time monitoring of bus movements and real-time communications between bus drivers and CTA’s control centre. The system will allow buses to more quickly adapt to changing traffic and street conditions, and help avoid the two biggest challenges facing bus service: bus “bunching” and long waits between buses.
    Read More
  • Use of US public transport increases
    December 19, 2014
    More than 2.7 billion trips were taken on US public transportation in the third quarter of 2014, according to a report released today by the American Public Transportation Association (APTA). This is a 1.8 per cent increase over the same quarter last year, representing an increase of more than 48 million trips and the highest third quarter ridership since 1974 (the oldest third quarter APTA has available for comparison). Some public transit systems that reported record third quarter ridership for their
    Read More
  • Lagos to get mass transit system
    February 5, 2013
    Lagos, Nigeria, is about to get a mass transit system with a difference, which the manufacturer says will play its part in reducing congestion and air pollution in the city. For the first time in the country’s history of Nigeria, a cable car company, Ropeways Transport, is set to launch a cable car mass urban transit system in the nation’s commercial capital. Under the terms of a thirty-year franchise agreement between Ropeways Transport, the Lagos Metropolitan Area Transport Authority (LAMATA) and the Lag
    Read More

Highlighted Content