Source: www.rta.ae
To handle the increasing ridership of public transport modes in which taxicabs are considered key component characterized by flexibility to users’ needs and the offering diverse and specialized services that meet all the needs of community segments.
“The number of trips made by taxicabs during the first quarter of this year has hit 26,142,496 trips, reflecting more than 5% increase when compared with the figure posted during the same period last year, which amounted to 25,022,423 trips,” announced Adel Shakeri, Director of Transportation Systems, RTA Public Transport Agency. “Likewise, the number of taxi users during the first quarter of this year reached 45,487,943 passengers; reflecting a 4% growth rate from the same period last year where it lifted 43,539,290 passengers,” he continued.
Commenting on statistics about the Booking and Despatch Center, which provides taxi service via telephone calls, Shakeri said: “The number of booking executed during the first quarter of this year amounted to 1,272,276 booking whereas it was 1,133,733 booking last year. Hala Taxi service, which was launched in the first of November 2013 as a service dedicated to taxi bookings made through the Booking and Despatch Center, handled 222,807 bookings during the first quarter of this year; which reflects the role of the new service in catering to the needs of the Booking and Despatch Center clients. The number of calls received by the Booking and Despatch Center during the first quarter of this soared by 20% reporting 2,039,926 calls whereas the number was 1,689,444 calls during the first quarter of last year.
“This achievement has been made available thanks to the use of one of the most sophisticated and accurate technological systems worldwide, known as the Despatcher System (D8) used in the Booking and Despatch Center for booking and deploying taxicabs; and is viewed as the backbone of monitoring taxi operations in Dubai Emirate,” noted Shakeri.
“This advanced system supports the drive initiated by the prudent Dubai Government towards the Smart Government as it links all customers with service providers through a variety of smart communication channels, rendering the service accessible at any time and place in the UAE in general and Dubai in particular. Among the key features of the D8 system is the zoning of areas in a way that makes it easy for cabdrivers to understand districts and locations, and enhances their ability to access borderlines and other geographical locations defining the borderline of each district, which contributes to a better distribution of bookings and enabling drivers to pick up bookings from the nearest point to the customer.
“This advanced system identifies the number and types of bookings, and the number of taxicabs in general; which helps in drawing up development plans and making good preparations for events held in the Emirate. The system also enables identifying the most and the least frequented areas in terms of the taxi booking service; which helps in the distribution of taxicabs per district,” added Shakeri.
The Booking and Despatch Center was established in 1995 and is responsible for executing the procedures of booking various taxicabs and taxi services between customers and franchise companies, following up the dispatch of the cab (service) to the customer, and attending to customer calls 24/7 through 3 daily shifts. The Center also offers a range of specialized services to meet various needs of community members such as Hala Taxi, Limousine Service, VIP Service, Family Vans, Ladies-Dedicated Cabs, Special Needs Vehicles, and the booking of a taxicab for 6 or 12 hours. Those figures and information are an accurate indicator of the factual operation of the taxi sector; and contribute to an optimal planning process based on realities on the ground in terms of ridership volumes and public needs. More info
