AI fine-tuning all modes of transport in Dubai
Driverless metro able to achieve near-perfect punctuality
Dubai will continue to develop, artificial intelligence (AI) in transport to achieve near-perfect punctuality, data analysis and decisionmaking processes, among other uses, the World Government Summit (WGS) was informed yesterday in Dubai.
Speaking at WGS, Mattar Al Tayer, director-general and chairman of the board of executive directors of the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) in Dubai, said the driverless Dubai Metro is 99.9 per cent punctual, for example, because of AI.
He said AI autonomously calculated the time between each metro — normally three minutes — and adjusted the schedule to remain optimal. Al Tayer said during rush hour, when some people push each other, the timings can change and have to be fine-tuned meticulously.
“No human can reach this 99.9 per cent level of punctuality,” he added.
Al Tayer said AI was also helping improve “customer happiness” and overall efficiency by presenting and supplementing the analysis of a mind-boggling ocean of data generated by the RTA. For example, there are some 400 million taxi journeys in Dubai, he added, and billions of data points to be reviewed by the RTA — where each transport is, where it is coming from, where it is going, fares, timings, schedules, etc.
“Imagine a human trying to present all that data in graphs and charts and other forms and then trying to analyse all that.”
Using the power of AI, the RTA has established a Dh350 million centralised Enterprise Command and Control Centre and “smart dashboard” to monitor, control and integrate all data in easy and intelligent forms — for all modes of transport. As an example of the benefit to riders, this efficiency translates to getting a taxi in Dubai in only four minutes on average, Al Tayer said.
The centralisation and smart monitoring at RTA also includes the private companies of Uber and Kareem, which are operating in Dubai under a partnership with the RTA.
Al Tayer was speaking on ‘The Role of the Private Sector in Shaping the Future of Transportation’ at WGS.