Tag: taxis

The second day of the 1st International School Transport Conference & Exhibition at the Dubai World Trade Center, saw interactive panels including a work paper entitled: Engineering Road Safety for Schools, delivered by Adrian Tan Hock Chuan, Deputy Director, Community Partnership of Singapore’s Land Transport Authority.

His Highness Shaikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, in his capacity as the Ruler of Dubai, has ordered the payment of Dh 26.5 million to Emiratis whose 6, 591 taxicab number plates are being used by the Dubai Taxi Corporation and taxi franchise companies registered with RTA.

Vehicles parked randomly on Dubai streets obstructing traffic flow and endangering the lives of motorists will be considered ‘abandoned’, according to Chief of RTA. Maitha bin Udai, CEO, RTA, outlined several measures to maintain road safety and ensure motorists enjoy driving.

H.E. Mattar Al Tayer, Chairman of the Board and Executive Director of the Roads & Transport Authority (RTA), revealed that the Dubai Metro, both Red and Green Lines, has touched new heights with ridership hitting 213.354 million passengers from the start of the commercial service on 10 September 2009 till the end of November 2012.

The Roads & Transport Authority has finalized preparations of its Operational Plan of Mass Transit Means; which comprises the Dubai Metro, public buses and taxis, as well as the management of traffic movement at sites witnessing events in Dubai Emirate during Eid al-Adha holiday. The plan has been developed in response to the directives of HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, to expand the entertainment and shopping events in Dubai during the Eid-in-Dubai event; which runs for two weeks from 18 October to 2 November 2012.

Professional drivers seeking a new or renewal of their licence will have to submit a health certificate showing they are free of serious diseases as part of new rules to be issued by Dubai soon, according to local authorities.

Dubai Poorly maintained pedestrian footbridges across the city irk residents, especially as temperatures rise. Lack of elevators and non-functional escalators are some of the complaints raised by residents. There are different types of pedestrian crossings. Some are enclosed and have air conditioning, while others just have stairs or ramps. There are footbridges with and without escalators as well as elevators.

“The total number of taxis [on the roads] is 7942. We are not planning to reduce the number of taxis, because we need to have all modes of transport in place,” said Essa Al Dossari, the CEO of public transport at the RTA. “We are serving a number of different categories [of people], including business people and tourists. There needs to be a variety [of options].”

Walking to work and cycling to work can help encourage people to using public transport, said a senior officer from the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA). The Emirate of Dubai is pursuing a target of at least 30 per cent of the use of public transport by the year 2020.

Concerned that many people are using the Metro for pleasure rather than to get to work and back, municipal authorities are to assign some 300 taxis to serve commuters of the network.