Dubai: A senior official has urged people to not misuse a new app that hails a taxi at the shake of a mobile phone.
Some people who don’t need a taxi are shaking their phone “to test it” or as a possible prank.
The free RTA Smart Taxi app was launched in June by the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA).
It recently made it to the ‘Best New Apps’ ranking in Apple Store for iPhones. The app is also available in Play Story for Android phones.
Some 20,000 people have downloaded it, with 500 bookings made through it so far, said Adel Shakeri, transportation systems director at RTA’s Public Transport Agency.
If a customer is logged in and the app is open, it searches for and books the nearest available cab, directing it to the customer’s location — all by a simple phone shake.
However, some people who don’t need a taxi are also shaking away.
“When the taxi arrives, they say ‘we don’t want a taxi’. It affected our taxi operations in the beginning. Some people misuse the app, they should be aware it’s for genuine service,” Shakeri said.
“Maybe they did it just to try it, to show others.”
He advised against frivol use of the app, saying it delivers a valuable service to customers.
“We’ve had good feedback. One man said on Twitter he had the best experience with it. There are many comments like that.
“You just register and log in for the first time, the next time you just have to shake it.”
However, Shakeri said some phones may not detect the customer’s latest location and they should reconfirm their shake.
Meanwhile, customers who don’t receive a confirmation within two minutes that a taxi is en route can instead call or text the dispatch service, which can be done via the app itself.
“In some areas, there might not be a taxi available at the time. We don’t want customers to wait.”
Shakeri said the app lets customers track the progress of their booked cab in near real time. It also provides details of the taxi.
“You know what taxi is coming and how far it is. Then there’s a notification that it’s arrived. You can also evaluate the driver on a star rating scale after the trip.”
The app can also suggest the shortest route to the destination. It is enabled to work with all five Dubai taxi companies, which operate about 9,000 cabs.
