A deal has been signed between the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) and the e-hail taxi provider Careem which will enable the travellers to book public taxis via the Careem app.
The online taxi booking company, Careem currently extends limousine services only. With this deal, all the 9,841 public taxis in Dubai which operate under Dubai Taxi supervision will now be available through Careem.
According to Adel Shakeri, Director of Transportation Systems at the RTA’s Public Transport Agency, under the supervision of both the RTA and Careem, more transport choices will be available to the tourists and citizens alike. Moreover, this initiative will ensure that the time of the travellers is saved, so that they don’t have to wait long for taxis, he added.
The new service will come with a variety of payment choices. Customers could pay for the cabs in cash, via their credit cards or Nol cards, same as they do booking taxis through RTA. It must be noted that Careem’s platform won’t replace the existing taxi booking system of RTA, meaning both systems will run simultaneously to offer customers more choices.
The agreement is a part of Integrated Mobility Platform (IMP) that aims to provide an easy access to all transit means on a single platform. Commuters in Dubai will be able to access not just public taxis but also metro, tram, monorail, Dubai Trolley, busses and ferries on this platform. The integration process will see its completion by the end of 2017.