Almost 5,000 taxis in the emirate have been already equipped with new smart meters
A total of 4,850 taxis in Dubai have already been equipped with new smart meters, according to Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) The government entity said that 3,000 more taxis will be also equipped with smart meters by the end of this year. The RTA said that the total investment for the installation of the initial smart meters reached $18.7 million.
The RTA said that these meters will add more safety and efficiency to taxi operations in the emirate.
Mattar Al Tayer, general director and chairman of the Board of Executive Directors of RTA, said that the entire fleet of 10,550 taxis will have the new meters installed by June 2018.
Among the key features of the new smart meters is the integration with Dubai Geographic Addressing System (Makani), which enables taxi drivers and passengers to locate their destinations accurately through the Makani unique identification numbers that are assigned to every building in the emirate.
The new smart meters also automatically add toll tariff to the taxi bills whenever the taxi passes through toll gates, without the intervention of the cab driver.
The smart devices will facilitate display of ‘out of service’ screen giving drivers a 90-minute flexible break per shift.
It can also display ‘end of shift’ screen to ensure that the taxi driver will not be hailed within the last 45 minutes of the shift to facilitate the handing over of the vehicle.
The Dubai authorities said that the new smart meters are also linked with optical sensors to detect the boarding of a customer, switching on the meter automatically.
The new system can also be linked with POS devices to enable smooth payment and has a safety system to monitor the speed of taxis.
