By Sheena Amos
DUBAI: Public Transport Agency of Road Transport Authority, RTA, Dubai, claims that the number of malpractices on public buses was less in January and February of 2017 compared to the same period in 2016.
“The field work teams of the Public Transport Agency reported in January of the current year (878) violations of fare payment evasion compared to (1,248) violations in January of 2016. And, (1,107) violations in February of the current year compared to (1,159) violations in February of 2016,” according to Abdullah Al Mahri, Director of Transport Activities Monitoring at RTA’s Public Transport Agency.
“RTA’s Public Transport Agency reported a series of violations and malpractices such as fare payment evasion on the part of public bus riders during last year. Some of the offences relate to bus drivers as well as users of public bus facilities such as bus stations and air-conditioned shelters.”
“This year-long ‘Rasid’ branded campaign is intended to improve the quality of public transport services in Dubai to enhance the satisfaction and happiness of users. It also seeks to curb any practices harmful to the progress of this sector and at the same time uphold the high tourist profile of the Emirate.”
“Through Rasid, the Public Transport Agency has spotted a series of offences and the most recurrent ones relate to the use of public transport means & services, entry/exist of paid zones without paying the applicable tariff, and eating/drinking in restricted areas. Campaigns are on the go to uproot these negative practices which inflict moral & material losses to the RTA and undermine the image of the RTA and Dubai Emirate,” explained Al Mahri.
“The campaign was intensified twice last year. The first cycle lasted 19 days involving the participation of 58 inspectors who reported 5,693 offences, and the second continued for 23 days in which 36 inspectors took part and 8,813 offences were reported,” he noted.
The crackdown aimed to spot bad practices such as the evasion of the applicable fare of using public buses as mandated by the Law Number (3) for 2009 regarding the uniform tariff of using public transport in the Emirate of Dubai. The campaign also aimed at verifying the compliance of bus drivers with the rules, regulations and codes of conduct, in implementation of the Administrative Resolution No (570) for 2014 regarding Quality Regulations of Public Bus Drivers.
Compliance
It also aimed at monitoring the compliance of bus riders, commuters, and users of associated transport facilities with the Order No (3) for 2009, and verifying the implementation of the Executive Regulation of the Administrative Resolution No (201) for 2012 regarding the standards & stipulations of transporting passengers in the Emirate of Dubai.
The ultimate purpose of the campaign is to report negative practices, be it by bus drivers, riders, or users of public transport facilities, and report the applicable offences in a bid to curb these practices,” continued Al Mahri.
He called on bus riders to pay the applicable fares through NOL cards in order to continue enjoying the use of these advanced and safe buses of the RTA. Such compliance, Al Mahri noted, would support RTA’s efforts to deliver services befitting residents, visitors and tourists flocking to the Emirate of Dubai from all over the globe.
Earlier this year the Agency had launched an advanced technology for monitoring the numbers of bus commuters in Dubai. It is a kind of a sophisticated smart system comprising several components fitted onboard buses or to the Bus Control Centre of the Agency. The technology calculates the actual number of riders boarding and alighting from public buses.