Khaleej Times

3-month trial run for bus on demand in Media City

- Staff Reporter

18 seats in the buses that operate on flexible routes and schedules

dubai — The Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) in Dubai has included Media City in the trial operation of ‘Bus on Demand’ service. The service, which is part of the RTA’s initiative­s under Dubai Future Accelerato­rs, begins today and will be free of charge for three months.

Al Barsha and Al Warqaa are the other two selected communitie­s for the trial run of the service.

Ahmed Bahrozyan, CEO of the RTA’s Public Transport Agency, said: “The RTA has opted to broaden the scope of the service under the current trial phase starting from Sunday to assess the response of the public in Dubai Media City, which has several vital hotspots such as Nakheel Harbour and Tower Station, American University of Dubai, Dubai Commercial Bank, and Aurora Tower. They also include Reuters Agency, CNN Station, Arabia & MBC Channels, Samsung, SAP, ITP Media, Concord Towers, Jumeirah Palm Tram Station, Tecom Business Parks, Master Card, IBM, Oracle, Google, Microsoft, and Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank.”The service will be offered through the smart app (MVMANT) available on Google Play and Apple Stores on smartphone­s and devices.

How the app helps commuters

Bahrozyan added: “The app enables commuters to figure out their routes from the start point up to the final destinatio­n, book their preferred seats, and pay the fares. The service offers a creative solution for the journey between the homes of riders and the nearest public transport station.”

During the free trial operation of the service in the three communitie­s, Al Barsha, Al Warqaa and Media City — a survey will be conducted at the metro stations for residents and employees to know their needs and views about the service before moving to the full operationa­l phase. The app will allow the passengers to book seats and track the movement of buses around their neighbourh­ood that serve as the connectivi­ty to the nearest public transport stations.

The 18-seater buses operate on flexible routes and schedules, and

The service offers a creative solution for the journey between the homes of riders and the public transport station.” Ahmed Bahrozyan, CEO of the RTA’s Public Transport Agency

bus drivers can communicat­e with service requesters and bring them to the nearest point of their destinatio­ns. The RTA has adopted the latest internatio­nal practices of countries such as Spain, Germany, the US and Finland.

reporters@khaleejtim­es.com

 ?? Supplied photo ?? Mini buses such as these will operate on the Bus On Demand routes. —
Supplied photo Mini buses such as these will operate on the Bus On Demand routes. —

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