Buses on Demand take passengers from their homes to “mass transit” for two weeks for free

Director of the Planning and Business Development Department at the Public Transport Agency at the Dubai Roads and Transport Authority (RTA), Adel Shakeri revealed to “Viral UAE” that a “bus on demand” service for transporting passengers from their locations to the nearest mass transportation will be provided in three areas in Dubai during the month The current and the next, indicating that the service is provided free of charge for two weeks from the date of commencement of service in each region.

Shakeri confirmed that the service received a great response when it was launched in Al Barsha last month, as the number of passengers who requested the service through the application reached nearly 4000 passengers during 16 days, in the period between the ninth and the 25th of last February.

The Roads and Transport Authority in Dubai began during the past year the trial operation of the "Buses on Demand" service in the Al Warqa and Al Barsha regions, to actually launch the service during last February in a number of regions, it started in Al Barsha on the ninth of last February, then it was launched in Dubai Internet City On the 23rd of the same month.

The service witnessed a demand for its use in Dubai Internet City, as the number of requests to reserve the service during the first three days of the start of the service reached 614, according to the data disclosed by Shakeri.

The idea of a "on-demand bus" service depends on the provision of public minibuses, taking residents from their locations to the nearest mass transportation such as metro stations, or bus stations, to reach them upon their request, which is registered via a smart application, in areas with low demand for mass transportation In that, the service operating expenses are reduced through fixed schedules, while achieving integration between the first and last mile mass transit services, ensuring easy passenger access, and reducing their waiting time.

According to the authority, the operation of the service was based on a number of criteria that include the optimum use of the land, the quality of commercial activities and the average income of individuals, as well as age groups and population density, and avoiding competition with the current system of public transportation, along with requests from the public.

Shakeri said that the authority plans to start service in the International City on March 22nd, as well as in the Greens region, on the 29th of the same month, in addition to launching it in the Dubai Silicon Oasis area on the fifth of next April.

He continued that «the service is witnessing a wide response by the users of mass transportation, as it is a convenient transportation, and with a flexible path that makes it more suitable for some groups», pointing out that the smart response system for public transportation passengers is based on the idea of connecting some areas with small public buses from Their locations, via a smart application that allows customers to specify their path from the point of departure to the point of arrival, as well as being able to pay the transportation tariff before departure.

It is mentioned that the authority launched awareness-raising and marketing campaigns to introduce customers to the service, and encourage them to benefit from it, by distributing brochures on the homes of neighborhoods scattered in the targeted areas, in addition to placing identification posters in malls and commercial and service centers, and advertising signs on lighting poles in these areas, To educate the population on the availability of the service, and motivate it to use it.

Dubai Roads and Transport Authority conducted a field survey within the stages of providing a “bus on demand” service, based on monitoring a number of criteria, which included the population groups used for the service, vehicle ownership, mobility options, the nearest stations and stops of public transport, and preferred options for transportation, including Walking distance, waiting time, etc., in addition to other criteria such as comfort, punctuality, service on demand, proximity to service to homes and transportation, and reasonable tariffs. The Authority used the best international practices in this field that are conducted in countries such as Spain, Germany and the states United and Finland.

4000 Passengers requested service within 16 days.

Sources:

RTA

Gulf News