Dubai Roads and Transport Author-
ity (RTA) showcased a new array of
smart services GITEX 2013 which
are offered to smart phone us-
ers, most important of which comes
“Smart Taxi”, which is to be launched
early next year.
These services allow users to ac-
complish several transactions via
their smartphone devices without the
need to visit customer support cen-
ters.
RTA chairman and CEO Mattar al-
Tayer stated that the “Smart Taxi”
service is considered one of the lat-
est, most sophisticated and innova-
tive smart applications. It is the first
of its kind to allow users to book a
taxi and track its route directly during
the actual moving time of the vehicle.
He also explained that this unique ap-
plication is characterized by its fea-
tures that are unprecedented in the
Middle East. It grants its users from
Dubai residents, tourists and visitors
the ability to book a taxi with a single
click any time and from any location
through the smartphone app, which
is easy and seamless to use.
Al-Tayer also points out that the new
“Smart Taxi” app covers all taxis in
Dubai, which are more than 8500
vehicles. It is incredibly simple and
serves all segments of society. More-
over, this smart app makes booking
a taxi a new luxury and excellence
experience offered to everyone in
Dubai.
He adds saying that the “Smart Taxi”
app can, through one of its distinct
features, immediately determine the
location of the passenger via GPS
without the need for writing details
and data that might be difficult for
some elders or tourists or for those
whose vehicle broke down in areas
they are not familiar with. The smart
taxi app has transcended the one-
click feature to simply gently shaking
the phone up and down to determine
location, book a vehicle and send
the nearest available taxi to the cus-
tomer.
Al-Tayer also spoke about the third
version of the RTA's app, which is
compatible with smart phones, and
provides new services to users. Such
services include paying traffic fines,
recharging Nol cards, adding Geo-
tagging to Madinati service and RTA
service directory. This application is
available in both Arabic and English
on Google Play and Apple Store.
On his part, the director of the Public
Transportation System at RTA Adel
Shakeri said: “The concept of ‘hailing
a cab by shaking the phone’ is exclu-
sive to the Smart Taxi service which
allows its users to request a taxi by
simply shaking the mobile phone. In
order for the client to use this appli-
cation, he/she has to enter his phone
number so that the application imme-
diately searches for the nearest taxi.”
Shakeri also adds saying that this
application locates the client auto-
matically, which makes getting a taxi
very simple and easy. As soon as the
driver confirms the order, the client
gets directly informed by the current
location of the taxi, and he/she also
gets informed upon its arrival.
He explains saying that clients will be
able to evaluate the driver, which al-
lows RTA to get direct feedback from
users to raise the level of their ser-
vice satisfaction.
He also adds that by the end of the
trip, the client receives a simple form
of five points to evaluate the perfor-
mance of the driver. It is also pos-
sible via this application to track the
users’ previous booking requests in
order to make new ones.
Adel Shakeri also indicates that this
application allows users, in addition
to immediate taxi booking, to book
a taxi in advance for any given date
or time. If a user approaches the taxi
stand, the application provides him/
her with the instructions required to
reach there.
The director of the Public Transpor-
tation System at RTA concludes say-
ing that RTA always seeks to ben-
efit from the latest technologies to
improve its various services offered
to the public in different social seg-
ments, according to scientific criteria.
applications
Smart Taxi…
Farewell to Waiting and Welcome to Luxury
13
November
2013
