RTA unveils smart roadmap comprising more than 200 services

Executives of the Roads & Transport Authority (RTA) pledged RTA's fullsupport to the initiative of HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, to transform Dubai into the smartest city in the world within 3 years. This step is represented through adopting smart solutions & applications in various services & initiatives provided by the RTA to the public.

To this effect the RTA held a press conference yesterday at its Head Office to announce the roadmap for transforming various RTA service bundles (more than 200 services) into the Smart Applicationsplatform in an effort to simplify procedures of availing public services, thus saving effort & time through using Apps installed in mobile phones and tablet computers among others.

The conference was attended by Ahmed Bahrozyan, CEO of RTA's Licensing Agency& Head of Supervision of Implementing the Integrated Roadmap to Transfer to the Smart Government Team; and a host of Directors of concerned RTA departments. Media folks descended in the event; which heralds a turning point in the mechanism of delivering RTA services to customers on daily basis.

"Since inception, the RTA has been endeavoring to deliver services befitting the reputed standing of the Dubai Emirate as a premier global economic, tourist, and financial hub attracting multitudes of investors, business leaders, tourists and visitors, especially during the season of exhibitions and conferences representing key industries," said Bahrozyan.

He added: "In this conference we are unveiling the roadmap for migrating RTA services to the Smart Government platform after going through unremitting efforts and fruitful cooperation with the relevant departments of Dubai Government; which has ultimately culminated in realizing our cherished objective of achieving the Dubai Government vision in a way compatible with the new development seen by the UAE in general and the Dubai Emirate in particular," he stated.

Bahrozyan further added: "We appreciate the massive efforts and the prudent drive of HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum to transform Dubai into the smartest city in the world to ensure the happiness of its residents and visitors through the provision of services surpassing the highest international standards."

"We have nine new services covering different customer categories namely, Practice Theory Test (in Arabic, English & Urdu), Tender Services (information service to update vendors about new tender opportunities), Al-Hares Service, School NOC Services Inquiry (allowing schools, kindergartens & nurseries to track down their requested NOCs), Water Taxi Services (request form to book a water taxi), and NOL Basic Transaction History (list of the recent transactions made using NOL cards)," he continued.

"Additionally, we offer Application for Elderly Parking Permit (allowing the elderly to apply for parking permit through mobile devices), Application for Renewal/Lost/DamagedElderly Parking Permit,and Application for Renewal/Lost/Damaged Permit for the Disabled (Permanent Permit). It is worth mentioning that the RTA currently has 32 smart services which are all compatible with Android &iOS platforms."

Bahrozyan also said: "The RTA definitely attaches considerable importance to the realization of the vision of HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, in caring for the public and customers spanning various community members, through delivering best-in-class smart 5-star services measuring up to their needs and expectations via mobile phones, such that they can avail these services wherever and whenever they wish without going through the hassles of conventional procedures; an exercise poised to contribute to raising their satisfaction rating as well."

"We, as a work team in the RTA, were keen on mapping out an important philosophy in designing services such that they become both accessible and easy-to-use, particularly as we have to tackle and provide more than 200 services over the mobile phone.Our focal attention and methodology will definitely revolve around customers and we will be keen on using a variety of communication channels with them in order to identify their prime service needs and embark on providing them over the mobile phone. We will also engage them with us directly during the designing and testing phases of the Apps to be developed. We will be developing a galaxy of creative services in a variety of fields related to vehicles parking, vehicles licensing and public transport means."

"In the near future we will be working diligently to comply with and fulfill the standards of the Dubai Smart Government as regards developing services over the mobile phone, besides providing ordinary services such as the payment portal via mobile phones, e-payment portal and registration through my e-ID. We will also test the new services in 11 telephone brands to ensure compatibility with the most commonly used devices. It remains to be said that the Roadmap will be accompanied by a comprehensive marketing campaign in order to keep our clientele informed of the cut off launch dates set for their key services," said Bahrozyan in a concluding remark.

During the press conference, Abdulla Al Bastaki, Director of IT at RTA's Corporate Technical Support Services Sector, delivered a presentation about RTA's Smart Services.

It is worth-mentioning that the Smart Dubai initiative aims at transforming Dubai into the world's smartest city in the upcoming three years through rolling out 100 initiatives and 1000 smart services to improve the quality of life in the city. The Smart Dubai initiative is built on six key pillars namely: smart economy, smart lifestyle, smart transportation, smart governance, smart environment, and smart generations; which revolve around three key thrusts namely: communication, integration and cooperation.

Emirate:  Dubai

Date: Mar 16, 2014

Back