Abra, the small wooden boat connecting Bur Dubai to Deira, was for years the flagship means of transportation on the creek, ferrying passengers from one side to the other. While it still does, the sphere of public trans-port system in Dubai has ex-panded with the introduction of several new ventures by the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA), making commuting in and around Dubai a breeze.

Al-Futtaim Auto and Machin-ery Co. (FAMCO), one of the strategic partners of the trans-portation authority, is among the important stakeholders that tirelessly work in the back-ground to ensure flawless ser-vice of public transport.

“We have a long standing re-lationship with the RTA and Dubai government. For over 40

years, we have been supplying Yanmar marine engines to Dubai’s abras. After the launch of RTA, our engagement with the authority has broadened and we now supply these ma-rine engines for waterbuses and water taxis. FAMCO also offers 24-hour support round the year. So, rather than just supplying new engines, we also advise them on the condition of en-gines and recondition it for them. For instance, we have just concluded a reconditioning pro-gramme for RTA’s engines,” said Frank O’Connor, Managing Director, FAMCO, UAE.

A total solutions provider to the RTA FAMCO, a strategic partner of the Roads and Transport Authority, ensures that public transport works as smoothly and immaculately as planned

By Suneeti Ahuja-Kohli

Frank O’ConnorManaging Director, FAMCO, UAE.

» Continued on page III

The Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) marked its 10th anniversary on November 1 with huge achieve-ments despite multiple challenges encountered from the early days

of establishing the RTA. It not only took on the transfer of tasks, assets and technologi-cal systems from the Dubai Municipality, General HQ of Dubai Police, and Dubai Transportation Corporation in record time but also addressed the sourcing of compe-tent administrative and technical cadres, ease traffic congestion, improve traffic safety level, and increase ridership of public trans-port means.

Overall, it has achieved over 90 per cent

of its strategic plan related to upgrading the infrastructure of roads, public transit means, pedestrian facilities and traffic safety. Flag-ship projects of the decade are the Dubai Metro and Dubai Tram, followed by the sprawling network of roads, underpasses, flyovers, as well as public transit systems and a variety of marine transit modes.

Mattar Al Tayer, Director General and Chairman of the Board of Executive Direc-tors of the RTA, offered thanks and appre-ciation to His Highness Shaikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President

k h a l e e j t i m e s | a D V e R t i s i N G s U P P l e m e N t | s U N D a y , N O V e m B e R 1 5 , 2 0 1 5

Growth in leaps and boundsRTA has greatly improved the road infrastructure and transportation modes, bringing Dubai closer to the ideals of His Highness Shaikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai

» Continued on page III

The extraordinary vision, care and continuous support given to the RTA by leaders of Dubai, has been instrumental in RTA’s achievements during the past

10 years. In the first months of our establishment, His Highness Shaikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum created a strategic plan for the development of the road network and public transportation system, with a value of Dh75 billion. His Highness asked all government departments and agencies to provide all forms of support to RTA. I would also like to thank His Highness Shaikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, His High-ness Shaikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, and His Highness Shaikh Maktoum bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, for their personal involvement and support in launching strategic projects such as the opening of Dubai Metro, Dubai Tram, Marine Transportation and different road projects, which were behind the success achieved by the RTA over the past decade.

Mattar Al TayerDirector General and Chairman of the Board of Executive Directors of the RTA

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and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai; Shaikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of the Executive Council; and Shaikh Maktoum bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai and Deputy Chairman of the Executive Council, for the continuous support given to the RTA.

“The bright vision and the continuous sup-port accorded to the RTA by the leadership of the emirate is the underlying factor of the achievements made over the past 10 years. During the first months of establishing the RTA, Shaikh Mohammed endorsed the stra-tegic plan of the RTA covering roads and pub-lic transport network in the tune of Dh75 bil-lion. He directed all other government departments and entities to extend every sup-port to the RTA during the establishment pe-riod. Multiple visits to the RTA were made by Shaikh Mohammed as well as Shaikh Ham-dan and Shaikh Maktoum, who were keen to launch such strategic projects like the Dubai Metro, Dubai Tram, marine transit modes and a variety of road projects.

“Since inception, the RTA has been work-ing to improve its performance level, keeping abreast of successive changes everywhere. It took early action to bolster its ability to intro-duce modern administrative concepts fo-cused on serving customers better to make them happier, promoting resources, simplify-

ing procedures, encouraging innovation and creativity, unleashing employees’ abilities and skills, and achieving excellence in gov-ernment administration,” noted Al Tayer.

RTA seRvices OveR The yeARs

Traffic safety: The RTA has implemented a series of quick solutions to improve traffic in more than 120 spots, which resulted in im-proved traffic safety and mobility. The roads safety promotion efforts made by the RTA in cooperation with the Dubai Police contributed to reducing the traffic accidents fatality rate from 22 deaths per 100,000 persons in 2006 to 12.7 deaths per 100,000 people in 2009.

“This downward trend continued in 2014, diving to about 3.5 deaths per 100,000 per-sons, while pedestrian fatalities rate plum-meted from 8.4 deaths per 100,000 persons in 2006 to less than one death per 100,000 persons in 2014,” said Mattar Al Tayer, Di-rector-General and Chairman of the Board of Executive Directors of the RTA.

Public bus fleet: The public bus fleet in Dubai

soared to 1,512 buses — 170 double-decker buses, 996 standard buses and 346 articulated buses. New integrated bus depots were built in Jebel Ali, Al Khawaneej, Al Rawiyyah and Al Awir. The RTA also announced the launch of the first green bus in Dubai with clean-envi-ronment technology, powered by biofuels pro-duced from re-refining edible oil.

Dubai Metro: The Dubai Metro has 79 trains, each of which consists of five coaches with a capacity of 643 riders (four riders per square metre). From the start of operations in September 2009 till September 2015, the Dubai Metro has transported more than 656 million riders.

Dubai Tram: On November 11, 2014, the Dubai Tram was inaugurated. The tramway extends 11km along Al Sufouh Road starting from the Marina up to the Tram Depot near the Dubai Police Academy. It comprises 11 stations focused on high population density and business activity areas. The fleet com-prises 11 trams, each of which can accommo-date 292 riders.

Dubai Water canal: The Dubai Water Canal project will link the Business Bay District with the Arabian Gulf. Bridges will be built over the canal on the Shaikh Zayed Road, Jumei-rah Road and Al Wasl Road. The canal will also feature five marine transport stations.

Licensing: The number of vehicles registered in Dubai increased from 740,000 in 2006 to 1,526,667 vehicles in September 2015. The total number of driving licences issued has crossed two million.

InternatIonal and regIonal traffIc safety awards receIved:

Prince Michael International Award for •Traffic Safety in 2012Gulf Traffic Award for Traffic Safety •Achievements in 2009 and 2013International Road Federation (IRF) •award for traffic safety achievements

In the bus and truck division, FAMCO has the strongest rela-tionship with the authority. It has supplied 55 coaches to the transport authority in December 2009 that ply on the Dubai-Abu Dhabi route. On an average, these coaches have clocked about 1.4 million kms each, and some have also run for as much as 1.7 million kms. “These coaches have been on a full-ser-vice maintenance contract with us ever since (December 2009). Originally it was planned for five years, but it was extended and now runs until December 2016,” added O’Connor, who is proud of the exemplary after-sales sup-port that the company offers.

For nearly six years, FAMCO has been maintaining these coaches at RTA’s workshops. The company deployed six tech-nicians who take care of mainte-nance and services at night when the buses are not required by the RTA, and also ensure that they take off from their depot as per the morning schedules.

“Automotive and marine in-dustries talk about minimising downtime. However, with us it is all about maximising the up time. We do everything we can to en-sure that all routine maintenance and servicing is done when the

vehicles are not operating,” said the managing director.

After-sales service and sup-port are the biggest strengths of FAMCO. Therefore, it doesn’t come as a surprise when the company says that it is the only vendor that still maintains a full service contract with RTA.

With superb reputation in af-ter sales and a highly advanced portfolio of products, FAMCO is a total solution provider for the RTA. Almost 95 per cent of its Volvo coaches and trucks are fit-ted with an I-Shift gearbox. It is a manual gearbox that is auto-matically controlled and allows drivers to concentrate fully on the roads and leaves little room for unforced errors. “We insist on driver training whenever we hand over a product, and that’s not a refresher course. We either pass or fail drivers. If we do not think the drivers are good enough, we fail them and inform their employers that more train-ing is required,” said O’Connor.

The company is already look-ing for new and better ways to collaborate with the RTA, espe-cially in the run up to the Expo 2020. It expects RTA to take a leap forward and introduce new greener technologies in Dubai, and when it does, FAMCO will be ready to offer the best of green products from Volvo.

FAMCO congratulates the au-thority on completing 10 years and wishes them more success in the future.

— suneeti@khaleejtimes.com

1 0 y e a r s o f r ta IIIkhaleej times | ADVERTISING SUPPLEMENT | SUNday, NOVEMBER 15, 2015

A total solutions provider tothe RTA » Continued from page I

» Continued from page I

Growth in leaps and bounds

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Number of lanes crossing Dubai Creek increased from 19 lanes ◗in 2006 to 48 lanes in 2015, reflecting a 153 per cent rise. Business Bay Crossing established with 13 lanes and a capacity ◗to accommodate about 26,000 vehicles per hour. The old Al Garhoud Bridge was replaced by a new one compris- ◗ing 14 lanes, with a capacity of 32,000 vehicles per hour.The six-lane Floating Bridge was constructed using military ◗technology.Al Maktoum Bridge widened from 9 to 11 lanes. ◗The length of roads network extended from 8,715 lane-kilo- ◗metres in 2006 to 13,335 lane-kilometres by the end of Sep-tember 2015, recording an increase of 53 per cent.Former six-lane Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Road widened ◗to 12 lanes, with a capacity of more than 24,000 vehicles per hour, starting from the entrance of Sharjah up to the Arabian Ranches Interchange. Emirates Road improved with 12 lanes and 15 interchanges ◗including three flyovers and 12 underpasses for turns with a span of 72 kilometres, extending from the entrance of Sharjah up to the entrance of Abu Dhabi. Al Khail Road now extends about 15 km, starting from Al Mey- ◗dan Road intersection to Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Road intersection and comprises six lanes in each direction. Former four roundabouts have been converted to multi-level free movement interchanges. Work is currently underway to complete the construction of ◗new parallel roads on Sheikh Zayed Road, with total length of about 31 kilometres. The project includes the construction of 23 bridges extending 8km at interchanges to ensure the smooth traffic flow in the area.

CyCling traCks

The RTA has built cycling lanes of more than 178-km long, of which 138-km track extends from Seih Assalam up to Nad Al Sheba. The project is to encourage Dubai residents to practise cycling as a sport and a hobby. It is also part of RTA’s master plan to provide cycling tracks, covering the emirate in its entirety.

Marine transport

The RTA upgraded marine transport systems, which sees over 13 million passengers every year. Shaikh Mohammed inaugurated the Dubai Ferry on March 4, 2011, which can accommodate 100 passengers. It is the third project in RTA’s strategic plan to up-grade the marine transit system, besides the Water Bus and the Water Taxi. Over the past 10 years, the RTA has completed a number of key projects, including the retrofitting of 149 abras. The fleet now consists of 175 abras, with renovated abra stations and marinas.

In August 2015, the RTA launched five modern abras emulating the design of traditional abras. They are eco-friendly and operate on octane fuel, which produces lower carbon emissions.

taxis

Today, RTA’s fleet of taxi comprises 9,927 vehicles, including the vehicles of Dubai Taxi Corporation and franchise companies. This sector offers quality and diverse services to meet the needs of all community segments.

Since inception, the RTA has been keen on operating environ-mentally friendly public transport. In this regard, the Dubai Taxi Corporation has started operating hybrid taxis powered by both eco-friendly fuel and electricity, as part of a comprehensive plan to curb pollution caused by vehicle emissions in Dubai.

In 2008, the RTA started the tentative operation of 20 hybrid vehicles to assess their feasibility. The number of hybrid vehicles jumped from 20 in 2013 to 145 in 2015.

safe sChool transportation

In April 2015, starting from the academic year 2015–2016, 111 world-class and eco-friendly buses were deployed to transport private schools students.

The school transportation buses are equipped with state-of-the-art technologies such as Closed-Circuit Television (CCTV) and Geographical Positioning Systems (GPS) that are compatible with the smart geo-addressing system (Makani) of Dubai Mu-nicipality, and the Tracking System through the Operations Con-trol Centre.

sMart serviCes

Around 173 RTA’s main services have been shifted to smart services and is now offered via 10 smart apps. The RTA apps are unique, smart, innovative, creative and user-friendly in a way that gives users satisfaction, as proven by the huge download rate of RTA apps which has clocked 3.7 million downloads.

The RTA further broadened its services in October 2015 by launching the Smart Mall App in five metro stations. The App, which is the first of its kind worldwide, allows users to shop via an interactive innovative screen.

It has also launched 100 smart air-conditioned bus shelters for public transport users, where the public can enjoy free Internet connection, in addition to a variety of other services.

punCtual serviCe

» Basanti“I have been in Dubai for about five years. Every Friday I take a bus from my place to Bur Dubai, where I usually meet my friends. The best part about the RTA service is its punctuality. In the last five years, I don’t recall the bus not arriving as scheduled. The buses are clean and air-conditioned, which makes my 55-minute commute pretty comfortable.”

reasonable Mode of transport

» Puneet Datta“RTA offers the best modes of intercity transport. Courtesy of RTA coaches, I am able to visit my friends in Abu Dhabi and Fujairah at least once a month. I do not have to worry about driving over 150 km. The journey is smooth, stress-free and reasonably priced. I usually take the last bus from Dubai to Abu Dhabi on Thursday evenings and return on Fridays.”

best in teChnology and ease of use

» Yahya Danboos“I’ve used public transport in many different cities around the world and in terms of technology, services and ease of use, but the best has been Dubai’s public transport with its universal Nol Card, free Wi-Fi access and great air-conditioned bus stations. It would be nice to have signs near the metro station escalator to make people stand on the right so that those who are in a hurry can walk up on the left.”

seCure environMent and friendly staff

» Maegan Valeriano“When I was young, despite growing up in the UAE, I rarely went to other places aside from home and school. But thanks to the efforts of the RTA and their continuous innovation, I can conveniently move around and visit places I have always wanted to visit before. My parents are especially mindful of my safety, but due to the clean and safe environment as well as the helpful and dedicated staff, they can be rest-assured about letting me go out with friends and colleagues. I can’t believe it’s been 10 years! Thank you for your hard work and I look forward to your future projects.”

exCeptional CoMfort for woMen and Children

» Alyssa Solda“I remember the first time I rode on the Dubai Metro. It was when it was newly opened. I wanted to check out the red line along with some friends and we headed for Dubai Mall during Eid. We were amused when we first entered one of the cabins and since then, I still use the Dubai Metro due to easy access to landmarks without having to worry about being stuck in traffic. There’s even a separate cabin for women and children to add comfort. I’m still looking forward to trying out the Dubai Tram, and other plans RTA may have for the future.”

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uae residents share their experienCe

with rta

MAN Truck & Bus Middle East and United Motors & Heavy Equipment congratulate the RTA on reaching the milestone of 10 years in existence. During this time, the RTA has achieved great success and developed integrated and sustainable transportation systems which provide world-class services to Dubai residents in order to support Dubai’s com-prehensive growth plans.

During this journey, MAN Truck & Bus has been privileged to support the RTA with a total of 401 city buses of its brand NEO-PLAN that are renowned for their robustness, reliability and adher-ence to high standards of driver and passenger comfort and safety. These include standard buses, ar-ticulated buses, double decker buses and mini buses.

Apart from this, the NEOPLAN fleet of buses is exclusively maintained and serviced by United Motors. MAN has also conducted a “Train the Trainer” session for imparting best practices to RTA Driver Trainers as well.

MAN Truck & Bus and United Motors look forward to supporting the RTA in the future with high-quality vehicles and using its global expertise and insights to ensure that Dubai residents enjoy the best of transportation options.

We at Arabia Taxi take this op-portunity to congratulate the management and the employees of the RTA for successful comple-tion of 10 years in service. RTA has achieved major milestones in a short period. It has completed some significant and prestigious projects in a record time such as the Floating Bridge, Al Garhoud Bridge, Dubai Metro, Business Bay Crossing, etc. RTA has also developed a high-quality mass transit system comprising the metro, tram, buses and marine transportation, besides adopting smart technologies to ease the movement of public in this vi-brant city.

We are proud to be a strategic partner of RTA and thank the man-

agement of RTA for their continu-ous support and guidance to us in providing efficient taxi services to the public in Dubai. We are com-mitted and glad to be a part of the journey spearheaded by the RTA, consistently improving year after year to pursue new methods and processes to match the interna-tional quality and standards.

Arabia Taxi was awarded with the privilege to operate 926 taxis. The latest inclusion of Hybrid

Taxis has proven that there is high importance given by the authori-ties towards the protection of the environment by reducing pollu-tion and greenhouse gases for the well-being of all living beings.

With round-the-clock service, we are always ready to serve our valuable customers. We are con-tinuously striving to improve the quality of service offered by our company. Our taxi drivers are well trained to drive safely, have full knowledge of the city, and treat the customers with respect and courtesy.

We are confident that with the support and guidance of the transport governing authorities, we would exceed the international standards of providing taxi services in the UAE and set a benchmark for other countries to emulate.

The writer is Vice-Chairman and Managing Director Arabia Taxi LLC, Arabia Holdings Group Companies.

Connecting Dubai like never before

Partner in transportation

Arabia Taxi has been working closely with RTA to make commuting a breeze in the emirate

MAN Truck & Bus congratulates RTA on 10-year milestone

By PSM Habibulla Khan

psM habibulla khan

1 0 y e a r s o f r ta V

Vital road projectsPlanning, designing, and construction of major roads and transport projects take a long time, but the RTA has made several mega achievements within a short period:

dubai water Canal project on sheikh Zayed road

MAN Lion’s City CNG Going for Gas.

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