DUBAI 27 August 2017: Since its launch in January this year, the Smart Car rental service has so far executed 60,277 journeys, according to Dubai’s Roads & Transport Authority (RTA).
This amounts to 49,139 rental hours in seven months after the launch of the ‘eKar’ and ‘Udrive’ apps.
Service Details
The service is carried out without human intervention in taking/handing over the car.
The RTA has provided 45 locations in Dubai to avail the service, five of them within metro stations in Al Rashidiya, Union, Burjuman, Business Bay, and Ibn Battuta.
The smart car rental service has multiple benefits, including:
- Free fuel at Eppco and Enoc stations
- Free insurance, and free RTA parking.
- The user pays rental rate of 50 fils per minute when the vehicle is parked anywhere in Dubai, and 40 fils per minute when the vehicle is returned to the point of use.
The smart car rental service is only limited to Dubai Emirate.
Potential users need to register in the two apps to avail the service, by entering details of ID card, driver’s license, credit card and a photograph of the user.
The user has to show ID card to verify that he or she is the person registered with the system.
Tourists and visitors have to enter their passport details, entry visa details, driver’s license and credit card details.
The user has to key-in the Personal Identification Number in the device fitted to the car.
Upon finishing from the use of the vehicle, the case will be signed-off through the two apps, and the bill is forwarded to the customer online.
Recently, RTA organised a brainstorming workshop attended by scores of smart vehicle rental users to examine their experience with this service.
Adel Shakri, Director of Transportation Systems at RTA Public Transport Agency said, “The RTA has identified their experience, ideas, aspirations and observations about the new initiative for improving the service.
“The RTA is not only providing advanced services to customers, but also conducting seminars and questionnaires to assess the extent to which its initiatives meet the needs of customers. It is particularly relevant to the smart car rental service; which forms part of the Smart City initiative of Dubai Government. We are therefore striving to ensure that the service is compatible with the requirements of the “Smart City” aimed to bring happiness to Dubai residences,” he added.
By Angel Chan