Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority announced that its public bus system has achieved a 89% operating rate, registering global leadership in this field, and outperforming globally developed cities, such as London, Paris, Barcelona, Berlin, Madrid, Dublin, Hong Kong, Montreal, Rome and Sydney, for the third year in a row .
She also confirmed the provision of screens inside buses displaying live information about its itinerary, as part of a program to improve bus services, which the authority began implementing last September.
In detail, the Director of Maintenance and Services at the Public Transport Corporation, Abdullah Al-Mazmi, said that the World Bank considers 85% to operate buses as ideal and good in all circumstances, and the percentage drops sometimes to 75% in developing countries, but that as a result of the efforts made by the authority, Achieving a rate of 89% to exceed the record in this field, as buses operate around the clock, and are subject to the most efficient international methods of maintenance.
Al-Mazmi added that the Public Transport Corporation is constantly striving to monitor the best global experiences in the management, maintenance and operation of the bus fleet, and is keen to apply the best practices in this field, to achieve the highest rates of operational efficiency of the assets.
He emphasized the interest that the authority attaches to maintenance workshops, where the principles of the "Five Fives" (5Ss) are applied in these workshops, which led to improving the work environment and stereotyping and reducing risks and work flow, and the workshops obtained a five-star evaluation, according to the British Safety Council standards.
It is worth noting that the public transportation corporation's bus fleet has transported 450 million passengers during the past three years, with a total covered distance of 372 million km.
On the other hand, the authority provided screens inside public buses to display live information about its itinerary.
The executive director of the Public Transport Corporation, Ahmed Bahrouzian, told «Emirates Today» that the development has focused during the past weeks on providing information at the stations and inside the buses themselves, so that it is more clear to the passengers.
He pointed to feeding the screens with information about the time it takes for the passenger to reach the station, in addition to the bus number and its itinerary. He explained that «the screen inside the bus shows the flight line, and shows the passenger - by live transport - how close he is to the next stop, and how many minutes the bus needs to reach it.
He stressed that this information is very important for visitors and tourists who have no idea of the different areas and streets where buses move within the emirate. It is also important for people who use buses for the first time, or change the lines they use frequently. He pointed out that the service is characterized by a lot of luxury inside the bus, which makes it a way to enjoy on the go.
The authority has announced the awarding of a contract to implement two public transport bus terminals in the Oud Metha and Al Satwa areas, which includes integrated facilities to serve bus passengers from vehicle parking, passenger loading and unloading areas, commercial stores, restaurants and offices.
She said that the implementation of the project comes as a complement to the authority’s efforts to develop the infrastructure for the mass transit system, with the aim of encouraging residents to use public transportation for their daily transportation.
It is worth mentioning that the authority started building and developing 17 bus stops and bus stops and one bus station in Al Quoz to meet the requirements of public transport bus service towards the Expo 2020 area, to ensure a safe and easy transportation for visitors to the exhibition and its activities.