Vehicle inspecting robot, self-driving taxi launched

DH10 TO HAVE A SPACE WAITING FOR YOU AT DUBAI MARINA, DUBAI INTERNET CITY

Motorists won’t have to drive around looking for parking in two Dubai areas, as the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) has launched a parking reservation system on its smartphone app.

The RTA unveiled the service as part of its smart initiatives on the opening day of 38th Gitex Technology Week yesterday.

Helping people save time and fuel, the new service — available only on android smart phones for now — will enable motorists to reserve a parking spot with a few simple steps on the RTA Dubai app.

According to a senior RTA official, the service is set to be on iOS in the next 10 days.

Currently available in Dubai Marina and Dubai Internet City, with six reserved slots in each locality, more areas will have the facility in the next phase.

“Just log on to RTA Dubai app and select parking services, where you will see a new tab for parking reservation, clicking on it will take you to an interactive map which will show you the available parking slots in these two areas. You can then choose the slot and pay for the service before driving to the area to find a parking space waiting for you,” said Osama Al Safi, Director of Parking, RTA’s Traffic and Roads Agency.

Smart parking

The service is available at a fee of Dh10 per hour, with every additional hour costing Dh10 each. App users will have to ensure they have an RTA account with sufficient balance, to pay for the service. The account can be topped up using a credit or debit card.

“Users of the app know that the vehicle details are already stored in the app. Misuse of the slots or parking at the spaces reserved for this service without paying will attract a fine of Dh1,000,” said Al Safi. The service is part of slew of smart parking services, including a virtual parking ticket, which saves motorists the hassle of walking back to their cars to display the paper tickets.