Page 8 - U4SSC Case study: Urban mobility, June 2020

supported the creation of Law No. 6 of 2016, a first-of-its-kind in the MENA region, which enables
e-hailing services to operate in the city in a regulated manner as part of the RTA's network. This
regulation put in place a high-quality standard for transportation services:

• The vehicles should be sourced from RTA-approved limousine companies with specially trained
and licensed drivers.

• E-hailing transactional data should be shared with RTA, which can be leveraged upon for further
enhanced transportation services.
• Greater service efficiency is induced across other transportation modes by a quicker mode of on-
demand, e-hailing transport with waiting time of 4–6 minutes – e.g., waiting time for taxis reduced
by 31 per cent (11–12 minutes).
• The RTA implemented a mandatory regulatory monitoring system for e-hailing companies and
for-hire vehicles in Dubai known as the 'Connected Mobility System' the first-of-its-type system
provides real-time monitoring of trips, alerts, violations and driver behaviour analytics.

• The e-hailing project in Dubai is pertaining to the city mobility infrastructure (as part of city public
spaces and infrastructure) and also manufactured goods in the automotive industry in the circular
city framework of these Guidelines; it is also related to the sharing action item within the same
framework.

Promoting circularity

Vision and content

The project falls under the revolutionary new vision for a smart city, namely to be the happiest city on
earth. The project also contributes towards the vision of the RTA, which is to deliver safe and smooth
transport for all, along with addressing four key strategic goals of the RTA: Smart Dubai, Integrated
Dubai, People Happiness, and Smooth Transport for All.

The Smart Dubai initiative uses the ‘happiness’ vision as the driving force that integrates stakeholders'
well-being aligned with the Emirate's strategic objectives. This alignment has formed the basis for the
development of this smart mobility concept in the context of Dubai. Consequently, smart solutions
ranging from flying taxis, self-driving pods and integrated transportation systems, to Mobility as a
Service, are all aligned with the overall vision of serving key stakeholders and creating positive mobility
experiences.

The concept of e-hailing (also known as ride-hailing) is one of the major emerging mobility modes
globally and has disrupted the traditional taxi and public transportation systems in cities across the
globe. The concept involves ordering a car, taxi, limousine or any other mode of transportation through
a mobile application. Cities around the world have leveraged the services but face challenges due to
the unregulated governance of e-hailing companies.

2 Case study: Urban mobility, June 2020