ABU DHABI, (Pakistan Point News - 11th Aug, 2020) The Integrated Transport Centre, ITC, of the Department of Municipalities and Transport in Abu Dhabi, announced that 1,453,270 transactions were completed during the first half of 2020.
These transactions include a variety of services offered to the public that contributes to creating a safe and secure transport system in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi.
The online transactions that were completed during H1 2020 reached 1,178,249. This is after remote working was implemented as part of the precautionary measures for public health.
To ensure the safety of the public and public transport users, ITC regularly disinfected all public transport vehicles before and after each shift with intensive sterilising at night after the last working shift.
To support the public during the current health circumstances, ITC launched several initiatives: A bus on-demand service was launched under the name "Abu Dhabi Healthcare Link" in cooperation with Abu Dhabi Health Service Company, SEHA. The service is offered free to employees in the health sector to transport them from their homes to their place of work and back.
The ITC launched the "Abu Dhabi Healthcare Hero" initiative in cooperation with ekar and SEHA. As per the initiative, healthcare providers in the emirate will be offered a free vehicle for a month using the ekar application. The initiative was launched in appreciation for healthcare providers.
According to a decree issued by the Abu Dhabi Executive Council, Mawaqif parking fees were suspended for three months from April to June in support of the public.
The ITC implemented the Abu Dhabi Executive Council’s decision on exempting all individual and company/commercial vehicles from Abu Dhabi toll gate fees until the end of 2020. The decision was part of several initiatives launched by the Executive Council in support of Abu Dhabi’s Accelerator Programme, "Ghadan 21".
The ITC, in cooperation with the Department of Economic Development and sales outlets, offered use of taxis to sales outlets for home delivery service to avoid the risk of the coronavirus. Since the start of the service in April, 3,695 deliveries were conducted by taxis in the emirate.
Online payment of taxi fares was implemented in all taxis in the emirate. Since launching the service, the total number of online payment transactions reached 11,363.
The ITC and SEHA transported medical staff by taxis to the homes of the elderly and People of Determination to ensure their safety and satisfaction.
In cooperation with the Authority of Social Contribution, the ITC distributed around 100,000 food baskets in the emirate for three months using Tawasul Transport.
In coordination with the Department of Health and several hospitals, the ITC dedicated a specific number of taxi vehicles to limitedly transport coronavirus recoveries from some hospitals in Abu Dhabi to their homes. The initiative has conducted 425 trips so far and is still active.
The ITC installed plastic isolators in its taxi fleet that separate drivers from passengers. Not more than two passengers were allowed in the back seat and all drivers were requested to follow precautionary measures.
Taxis were used by 28,787,798 passengers and 15,993,221 trips were conducted by 6,390 vehicles from eight operating companies. That is in addition to 1,061 limousine taxis.
Additionally, the ITC stated that as part of its endeavour to limit greenhouse emissions, hybrid taxi vehicles in the Emirate has reached 5,278, which is 82.6 percent out of the total number of taxis.
The public bus fleet was increased during the first half of 2020 to 772 buses after receiving 112 new buses. The ITC stated that 21.3 million public bus passenger trips were conducted during the same period.
Under the supervision of the Student’s Safety System team, the ITC issued several guidelines to operators in coordination with academic institutions to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Additionally, the Student’s Safety team conducted regular inspections targeting all school transport operators to monitor the sterilising process.
The Traffic Management Centre, TMC, announced that 11,959 Road Service Patrols reports were received. That is along with 3,772 traffic permits that were issued during the same period. The TMC has also contributed to the National Disinfection Programme to support the Abu Dhabi Police.
To eliminate random parking, 7,801 surface parking spaces were organised in the emirate. The Mawaqif sector reassessed the distribution of parking spaces as part of the first phase of the project to distribute the parking spaces according to the public’s needs in Abu Dhabi Island.
Trucks safety procedures were implemented in the weigh-in-motion stations in Mussafah – Truck Road (E30) and Al Ain City – Khatm Al Shakla (E40). Since March, more than 120,000 trucks have been monitoring and technically checked.
From a total 43,672 passengers who used the ferry services, 21,012 passengers travelled between Jebel Al Dhanna and Dalma Island and 22,660 passengers travelled between Saadiyat and Al Aliah islands. This is in addition to the 20,051 vehicles that were transported.
