Source: www.rta.ae
Deadline extended to 15 December to attract the largest number possible of participants
The Higher Organization Committee of Dubai Award for Sustainable Transport (DAST) invited government, semi-government and private organizations and companies as well as academicians and researchers to take part in the second edition of the Award this year, in the context of efforts to showcase rich concepts and the best solutions & practices to improve and broaden sustainable transport in the emirate of Dubai.
Khalid Al Zahed, Chairperson of DAST, said that the higher committee of the Award decided to leave the door open for receiving nominations to the Award up to 15 December this year, in order to enable larger participation from public, semi-public and private entities as well as scholars and research workers in the second round of the Award 2009.
“Through launching this Award, RTA is seeking to hit a number of targets that include educating & encouraging individuals & community organizations to play a proactive and constructive role in supporting RTA to meet its objectives in upgrading the infrastructure of public transport, reasserting RTA leading role in promoting interactive partnership & cooperation with various entities & strategic partners in the field of transport, safety and conservation of the environment” said Al Zahid.
He added: “The Award also aim at showcasing sustained transport such that it will be among the top priorities of organizations, promoting the awareness and the sense of responsibility among all spectrums of the community; particularly companies & organizations. It also come in support of successful mobility, safety & environmental initiatives, advocating their application at the institutional level, and motivating creativity & innovative spirit of leadership in various mobility fields in order to achieve the maximum possible benefit.
He continued: “DAST is viewed as a practical manifestation of RTA strategy and vision of providing Safe & Smooth Transport for All to cope with the mushrooming development in the emirate of Dubai spanning commercial, economic, tourist, and real estate sectors among others. This initiative is a crucial step in leveraging the participation of the business community in the public, semi-public and private entities to join RTA efforts towards enhancing the integration of multi-modal public transport in the emirate of Dubai.
Commenting on the categories of the Award, Al Zahid stated that the Award consisted of four categories: Management & Organization of Mobility, Transport Safety, Conserving the Environment, and Special Needs; and considered these categories as pillars of sustained transport.
Management & Organization of Mobility category includes a number of initiatives & practices aiming at minimizing the heavy reliance on private vehicles in mobility, reducing the number of person trips made by private vehicles, eliminating the need for mobility on private vehicles, encouraging the use of mass transport means (such as buses, water transport & metro), promoting the use of traditional mobility methods (such as walking & cycling), improving the mobility of special needs persons, and any other initiative or practice leading to the optimum utilization to car parks.
Transport Safety category is concerned with the initiatives & practices that contribute to upgrading the level of security & safety of various transport modes, as well as enhancing the performance, standards & levels related to a number of elements, including transport means users. This is set to be achieved through focusing and improving the knowledge & compliance with safety rules and applicable practices of operating or using transport means.
This requires improvement of the safety levels, and making all transport means (such as vehicles, buses, trucks, water transport, trains and facilities) safer, by enhancing the respective security elements such as roads, parking, bus & and railway stations, and water transport facilities among others.
Conserving the Environment category is related to any initiative or practice that may cut the negative impact of transport means on the environment through reducing air pollution levels caused by the waste of various transport means, and any initiative or practice that leads to a reduction in the noise levels or effects or optical pollution caused by transport means. It also entails any other initiatives or practices that involve the treatment and minimization of pollution levels & effects resulting from oils, batteries and other wastes of transport means through adopting modern & innovative solutions.
Special Needs category is concerned with all initiatives & practices that care for this category through providing them with the required infrastructure, modern buses (low-floor buses), designated parking slots and Dubai Metro; which provides all the required facilities for persons with body, vision and hearing impairments. The category also includes encouraging government, semi-government and private organizations to adopt such practices & applications focusing on rehabilitation and integration of this category in the community.
RTA has also introduced two new sub-categories in the second edition of the Award; the first one is the Best Academic Transport Research. The research has to focus on introducing a sustained transport case covering the main categories, analyzing the existing situation compared to the best global practices, and concluding to viable recommendations that contribute to the improvement of the transport systems in the emirate of Dubai.
This Award is the only category of DAST oriented to individuals; where all scholars and researchers, as well as universities, institutes & colleges can take part in. The second subsidiary award is the Best Media Coverage; which relates to the media coverage of events, activities and news of the Award. This Award is designed for the government, semi-government and private media organizations.
Al Zahid confirmed that the Award has made a wide-ranging response and that RTA started to receive many applications for participation in DAST from government, semi-government and private organizations. “We invite more companies and organizations to take part in the Award, and offer new and feasible concepts to enrich all aspects of roads & transport sector in the emirate of Dubai and prop-up RTA efforts in this field.
The winners will be selected by an independent panel of judges; with members including senior specialists, experts and consultants with ample knowledge & practice in this field.”
Interested participants can obtain further information about the Award and/or download the Nomination Form from RTA website: www.rta.ae.
