The Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) in Dubai has decided to extend the date of canceling the taxi booking service by telephone through the RTA's reservation center, which has announced that it will be transferred to the booking through the Hala application via the Hala system starting December 7th. Next January 15, it also decided to create a new separate landline to help seniors use the smartphone app to book taxis in Dubai.
The decision comes two days after the results of a poll conducted by the Emirates Today showed that taxi customers may need more time to prepare to use the application as a single way to book the vehicle. The newspaper conducted the poll on its Twitter platform following a remarkable interaction with the news published about the Authority's intention to stop telephone calls and means to book a taxi in Dubai from December 7, and 72% of respondents in favor of maintaining telephone contact as a means of booking vehicles Taxi in Dubai through the RTA Dubai Reservation and Distribution Center.
Ahmed Behroozian, Executive Director of the Public Transport Agency, said that extending the date of this technical shift from booking through the call center to the use of the application «Karim», aims to prepare customers to use the new system by giving them enough time to get used to, stressing that this step constitutes As part of the strategic direction of the Authority to support the Smart City initiative launched by the government, it comes as a result of achieving a real achievement with the completion of the equivalent of two million flights booked through the application since the official launch of the service `` Hala '' on 29 August 2019.
Behroozian said RTA teams and Hala are working to ensure service to all Dubai residents and to help call center customers move seamlessly to Hala through the application of Kareem to overcome the challenges of some of the customer groups such as the elderly. They have limited access to smart services. The Hala team is working to create a new and separate landline exclusively for these groups to ensure that their needs are met.
Important differences
Ahmed Behroozian, Executive Director of Dubai Public Transport Authority (RTA), explained that there are a number of important differences between the old and the new taxi booking systems. The confirmation of booking through Karim application is 10 seconds instead of 2-3 minutes. The standby rate is 3.5 seconds for 11 minutes in the old system, and there is no change in the tariff value.