By Matovu A. Twaha gulftoday.ae
SALE of the navigation system gadgets, also known as Dalili, is on in at least ten stores across the country.
Dalili (literally meaning My Direction) is a navigation system installed in cars aimed at helping motorists to avoid roads congested with traffic. It can also guide a driver about which route to take and tell where an accident has occurred.
The devices are priced at Dhs1,599 and Dhs1,699 for ones with Bluetooth. Each lasts for a period of three years.
“We keep updating the system every after three months unlike many other such similar services,” said Eng. Hussain Al Bannai of Traffic Agency at the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA). Currently the map is updated free of charge for three years.
The gadgets have been on sale for the last three months. Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Traffic Agency of the RTA, Eng. Maitha Bin Adai said the devices are powered in both Arabic and English languages.
They are available in stores such as Sharaf DG, Jumbo Electronics, CompuMe, Jacky’s and E-Max.
They are also available at Carrefour and Costless Electronics, Plug-ins, Hyper-Panda, E4U and E-City.
The nouveau project was started by the RTA in partnership with the Integrated Telecommunication Company (du), Transport Hi-Tech Consultants and the International Marketing Services (IMS).
Du does not charge for messages sent to guide motorists by way of advising them to take a route with lesser traffic.
The system is so far for Dubai roads. “We expect other Emirates and countries to contact us for the same,” the General Manager of Transport Hi-Tech Consultants, Dr Saad A. Al Mubayedh recently told The Gulf Today .
Several reports issued by the RTA in recent months indicate that Dubai has been losing billions of dollars because of motor traffic congestion. One insider told The Gulf Today that Dalili is “one of many means we have strategically devised to beat this [concern].”
For Eng. Maitha, re-routing that has come along with the use of this system helps in the reduction of congestion since “motorists opt for shortest or light routes, according to traffic condition of the time.”
“We’re not focusing only on profits, but much on the safety of road users.”
