Source:Â www.zawya.com
Road & Transport Authority – Mohammed Al Munji: His Excellency Mattar Al Tayer, Chairman of the Board and Executive Director of the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA), has recently received a Sudanese delegation headed by His Excellency Abdullah Ahmed Mohammed, Minister of Planning and Development, Khartoum State, in the presence of the General Manager of Public Transport Company at Khartoum State Dr. Ali Khidir Bakheet, the CEO of RTA Public Transport Agency Eisa Abdul Rahman Al Dosari, and several Sudanese officials. The meeting discussed various means of cooperation in the field of public transport and modern transit systems.
In the onset of the meeting, Al Tayer praised the brotherly relationships between the UAE and the Republic of Sudan under the wise leadership of the two countries. “Visits of Arab delegations offer superb opportunities for exchanging expertise, boosting cooperation and benefiting from practices in various fields between Arab countries. RTA stands ready to offer all its experience and resources in support of brotherly and friendly countries,” he said. Al Tayer reviewed RTA experiment in the transition from private vehicles to the use of public transport systems and said: “From the start, RTA has been keen on developing mass transit systems to make them the first choice of commuters in the Emirate with the aim of increasing the public transport ridership from 6% in 2006 to 34% by 2020. Under this drive, RTA has constructed the Dubai metro
project, the longest driverless metro line undertaken as a single project worldwide. The fleet of public buses was beefed up from 560 buses at the time of establishing the RTA to more than 1550 buses in 2010, besides that it constructed and operated about 800 air-conditioned bus shelters. RTA has also completed the construction of Bus Depots at Al Awir, Al Rawiyya, Al Khawaneej and Jebel Ali, and in the marine transport, RTA operated the Water Bus and the Water Taxi and completed the renovation of 154 abras.
“As a result of these efforts, mass transit in the Emirate is playing a dynamic role in the daily mobility of residents and visitors alike. The number of persons who have used mass transit modes in 2010 has topped 332 million persons and the daily rider-ship of public transport means is estimated as 910 thousand persons. These indicators reflect a transition in the culture of mass transit means and that peoples have been able to perceive the tangible benefits of using the public transport systems.
“RTA has utilized the modern technologies in operating its mass transit systems such as the use of the Unified Card (Nol) in paying the fares of various public transport systems including the Dubai metro buses and the water bus as well as the Real Time Passenger Information System enabling passengers know the actual time of journeys between bus stations, bus stops and the metro stations in addition to the Journey Planner program (Wojhati), Sharekni and Awselni programs,” said Al Tayer in a final remark.
