The Roads and Transport Authority in Dubai has adopted a plan to gradually convert taxi service in Dubai from providing it on the road to electronic reservation, to reach 80% in the coming years. % of the total taxi trips in Dubai in 2022.
His Excellency Mattar Al Tayer, Director General and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the RTA, said: “The expansion of providing the electronic booking service for taxis, instead of providing them on the road, comes in support of the efforts of the Dubai government in transforming into the smartest city in the world, and in keeping with the global transformation in the field of transportation planning in cities.” In terms of facilitating movement for individuals and reducing dependence on private vehicles, as well as achieving happiness for the population, providing excellent services to tourists, and enhancing customer service, stressing that electronic reservation has become the most effective tool to match supply with demand, and an effective system to provide easy service to customers in obtaining taxis.
He added: Providing taxi service via electronic reservation contributes to raising the efficiency of taxi vehicles in the Emirate of Dubai, in terms of the ease of finding vehicles and booking them electronically, increasing the percentage of trips in which the waiting time for the arrival of the vehicle is three and a half minutes or less, and raising the rate of happiness and satisfaction of customers, to In addition to reducing wasted kilometers, reducing fuel consumption, and carbon emissions, in addition to providing advantages to customers such as the possibility of direct electronic payment through the application, determining the most appropriate route for the trip, the possibility of sharing the trip route with others, showing vehicle and driver information, and the possibility of evaluating the service and the driver, in addition to supporting efforts The RTA aims to achieve integration between the system of different means of transportation, and to provide the short trips service: (the first and the last mile) that helps users of mass transportation to reach their final destinations.
global practices
His Excellency the Director General and Chairman of the Board of Directors explained that the initiative to transform electronic reservation of taxi services took into account the best international experiences in this aspect, as the rate of provision of taxi services via electronic reservation in Singapore reached 80%, and it was also subjected to a comprehensive study and evaluation. The experience of the (Hala) electronic reservation company, to identify the operating system, organization and technology, as the company has achieved continuous growth in the number of its users, since its launch in August 2019, as it recorded 11% of the total number of taxi trips in 2020, then rose to 18% in 2019. 2021, to reach 30% in 2022, indicating that the 11,662 taxis in Dubai carried out 105 million trips last year.
running efficiency
According to the plan, the authority will allocate a fleet of taxis to provide the electronic booking service only, according to specific and clear mechanisms and indicators related to the service. Hala will undertake the marketing of the electronic booking service through the development of new channels with the aim of attracting a greater number of users and incentive initiatives for drivers. The plan includes defining areas In which only the electronic reservation service is available, providing parking spaces for regular taxi vehicles, and others related to electronic reservation vehicles, increasing parking spaces within areas with high demand, and determining these parking spaces on the smart applications of the authority and (Hala) company.
reservation mechanism
The user downloads the “Careem” application via his mobile phone and creates an account for him, then the process of booking (Hala) vehicles is in the list of vehicle types, then confirming the location, specifying the destination location, choosing the payment method, then pressing the (Yalla) button, so that the customer receives Phone text message with driver and reservation details.
The e-reservation service has many features, including confirming the reservation in less than 10 seconds, identifying the nearest vehicle, tracking the flight path, in addition to saving time and effort for motorists in external roaming and receiving user requests through e-reservation.