Dubai: Now pay your bills, shop for grocery and browse on free wifi as you wait for a bus as the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) rolls out smart bus stops.
First of the 100 Smart Bus Shelters has been inaugurated in Jumeirah with a host of facilities including smarting shopping, smart kiosks that will allow commuters to pay all the utility and telecom bills as well as charge mobile phones, while staying connected to free wifi through Wifi UAE.
Twenty five of these Smart Bus Shelters will be ready by the end of this month, where commuters will be able to sip soft drinks, while browsing on the internet or paying the bills through the smart kiosk.
The remaining 75 bus stops are set to be ready by end of this year.
Mattar Al Tayer, Director General and Chairman of the Board of Executive Directors of RTA, after inaugurating the first smart air-conditioned shelter in Jumeirah, said that the project is part of RTA’s effort to enhance the customer experience and make people happy while they use public transport.
“This is in conjunction with the initiative of His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, to make Dubai the smartest and happiest city in the world by offering 24-hour services to the public,” said Al Tayer.
The project is being undertaken in cooperation with Emirates Integrated Telecommunications Company (Du) and Right Angel Media.
Spread across 15 districts of Dubai, the smart shelters have been selected from the existing 656 air-conditioned bus stops located across the city.
According to Al Tayer, locations for shelters were selected based on several safety considerations and the number of riders.
“These shelters would be distributed over 15 districts in Dubai including Shaikh Zayed Road, Al Wasl, Jumeirah, Deira, Umm Al Ramool, Al Quoz, Al Rashidiya, Al Qusais, Al Awir, Al Nahda, Al Satwa, Al Karama, Al Ras, Al Garhoud, and Al Jafiliya,” he said.
Among the services available at the smart bus tops are payment of Dewa and Federal Electricity and Water Authority (Fewa) bills, topping up mobile balance, paying credit card bills, remitting cash back home, topping up international mobile balance for visitors as well as booking air tickets.
Commuters can also charge their mobile phones and purchase new Nol cards through the kiosk, while topping up their Nol balance.
A mini mart will also sell refreshments and snacks.
Interestingly, the free wifi will be available only for a limited period to ensure there is no misuse of the facility.
“As the average waiting time at a bus stop is usually not more than 10 to 15 minutes, we have decided to limit the free access for 20 minutes only. This will also ensure that people are not occupying the bus shelter just to access wifi,” said Mohammad Al Ali, Director of Buses at RTA’s Public Transport Agency.
Accessing its wifi for the first time, commuters will enter their mobile number and email id on the Wifi UAE website, which will lead them to a link to connect to the wifi.
