Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) has collaborated with key stakeholders and service providers to launch a comprehensive platform for monitoring and managing soft mobility operations.
The platform utilises AI technologies to advance sustainable mobility and is part of RTA’s efforts to position Dubai as one of the world’s smartest cities and achieve the UAE’s vision to be a leading global player in AI by 2031.
Hussain Al Banna, CEO of Strategy and Corporate Governance Sector at RTA, emphasised that the soft mobility integrated platform is a crucial initiative aimed at enhancing the quality of services, promoting the integration of multiple mobility means, and ensuring safe and secure mobility for users.
The platform links the systems of soft mobility service providers to RTA’s Enterprise Command and Control Centre (EC3), enabling real-time monitoring and management of soft mobility means across the emirate. The initial phase linked five providers of soft mobility services, including four shared e-scooter operators and one shared e-bike operator.
RTA has undertaken various initiatives to enhance individual mobility experience, such as expanding cycling tracks to 544 km in 2022 and planning to extend these lanes to 833 km by 2026 in line with the strategy to transform Dubai into a bike-friendly city. RTA has also established a soft mobility plan to redesign the road network across various districts, with plans to cover 31 additional districts over the next five years. Moreover, RTA has improved the infrastructure in the surrounding mass transit stations to facilitate easier access to these stations using sustainable transportation methods, resulting in an increase in public transport users from 461 million in 2021 to 621 million in 2022.
Overall, RTA’s various initiatives aim to ensure the safety and comfort of commuters, promote the role of soft mobility in first-and-last-mile journeys and short trips, and enhance the integration of public transport means. RTA has also contributed to the issuance of the Executive Council Resolution No. 13 of 2022, which regulates the use of bikes in Dubai, sets flexible speed limits on different routes according to the area and time, and assigns a plate number to each shared scooter.
