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

  • Bus lane enforcement reduces costs, journey times
    May 4, 2012
    The Southcote Lane site in the UK town of Reading is a notorious shortcut for motorists travelling into the town centre. The resultant congestion at the end of the bus lane, when motorists tried to re-enter the main traffic flow, caused congestion and disruption to bus timetables. Reading Borough Council wanted a cost-efficient, effective solution to accurately capture bus lane violations and improve bus travel times. Reading became the first local authority in the UK to deploy Siemens's LaneHawk fully auto
    Read More
  • Ramp metering delivers - again
    January 27, 2012
    Though still controversial, ramp metering, which has been around for nearly 50 years, continues to deliver substantial benefits, and generally for relatively small cost. Kansas City is a case in point. In March 2010, Kansas City Scout, a partnership between the Missouri and Kansas Departments of Transportation to provide ITS for the greater Kansas City Area, activated the first ramp metering system in the region. The project is located on an 8.85km (5.5 mile) section of Interstate 435 from Metcalf Avenue to
    Read More
  • Dynamic lane closures cuts time, cost and congestion on Motorway roadworks
    March 17, 2014
    A combination of technologies is leading to major congestion and cost reductions during roadworks on the UK’s motorway network. Innovative construction programme scheduling technology and the deployment of moveable barriers has achieved substantial savings of money and time on UK motorway roadworks managed by the Highways Agency (HA). This combination has set the scene for a new generation of road usage analysis tools. The HA’s objective was to reduce the congestion caused by lane closures during roa
    Read More
  • Barcelona's bike share scheme a life saver
    January 26, 2012
    A recent study of the health benefits of Barcelona's Bicing communal bike share scheme, reveals it is a life-saver, responsible for saving 12 lives a year. Barcelona's community bicycle programme, Bicing, was inaugurated in March 2007. One of several schemes operated in cities around the world by Clear Channel, it has fulfilled its role of providing an efficient, ecologically friendly and critically important form of transport, helping to increase urban mobility and reduce street congestion. Clear Channel h
    Read More

Highlighted Content