Dubai authorities are launching a new service - the "call bus", which will move along the route in accordance with the needs of passengers.
Dubai's Roads and Transportation Authority (RTA) has begun testing its new Bus On Demand service in Al Warqaa and Al Barsha.
Despite the fact that the service is similar to the "shuttle taxi" service, popular in Russia and the CIS countries, there is a fundamental difference - the bus driver makes the route, receiving data from passengers through a special mobile application.
Mattar Al Thayer, CEO and Chairman of the Board of Directors of RTA, launched the initiative in the presence of Halfan Juma Belhul, CEO of Dubai Future Foundation.
Before the launch of this service, RTA conducted population surveys covering 1750 people. The service is focused on three categories: workers (23 percent), professional specialists (15 percent) and retailers and service providers (62 percent).
The RTA has also verified the best global practices in this category in countries such as Spain, Germany, the USA and Finland.
Ahmad Bakhrosyan, Director General of the RTA Public Transport Agency, informed Al Thayer and Belhul about this initiative, which will be provided through the MVMAN smart application.
"18-seater buses will operate on flexible routes and timetables, and bus drivers will be able to find out the demand for the service through the application to get to the nearest point," Bakhrosyan said. "Using the application, customers from Al Warqaa and Al Barsha will be able to indicate their locations and track bus arrival times. "
During test trips, service effectiveness will be evaluated in terms of passenger accessibility, response time and travel time to destination.
