Transport officials in Dubai recorded a 50 per cent improvement in the punctuality of bus services by employing smart technologies including AI and machine learning, figures which show the tangible benefits of digitalisation.

The Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) is already looking to build on its current smart tech as part of a strategy spanning 2025 to 2030. It plans to up the scope of predictive analytics, employ AI in driver training and customer service, and launch an open data platform to spur collaboration with academic and industrial sectors.

It highlighted the boost in punctuality as a palpable benefit of its move to employ large-scale databases and advanced analytics in its bus operations.

A man in traditional Middle Eastern attire sits at a desk with multiple computer monitors displaying charts, graphs, maps, and surveillance camera feeds, working in a modern control room with wood-panelled walls.

The authority is also automating various related technologies and seeking opportunities across the wider public transport network.

Marwan Al Zarooni, director of Buses at the RTA, said the lift in the “bus schedule compliance index” was delivered by “re-engineering bus operating times in real time and implementing data-driven procedures”.

Cancellation rates were cut 4 per cent using an AI model, he said.

The RTA argued the figures mean AI is “no longer an experimental option”, rather a technology which is now “actively contributing” to better public transport in Dubai.

A data-driven weather response mechanism was also created, contributing to passenger safety efforts particularly in extreme meteorological events.

Trucking
The RTA issued the data on its bus service a day after advancing an autonomous driving strategy for articulated vehicles by adopting a regulatory framework.

Included are licensing procedures, evaluation of initial operational trials and technical standards, among other requirements.

Dubai targets 25 per cent of all mobility journeys to be autonomous by 2030, seeking a 30 per cent reduction in carbon emissions and a 10 per cent boost to operational efficiency.