Is your RTA bus running late or coming early? Ask Google Maps

Dubai: Bus commuters in Dubai can now know if the public buses are coming early or running late by checking their live schedules on Google Map.

Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) has started to run real-time updates of bus timetables on Google Maps in collaboration with Google Inc, the authority announced on Tuesday.

“As such, Dubai has become the first city in the Middle East to use open data in public transport at par with 100 smart cities across the globe,” it stated.

“Linking and providing instant updates of bus schedules on Google Platform will help public transport riders and keep them informed of bus timetables, especially in the event of an anticipated early departure or late arrival,” said Khaled Al Awadi, Director of Transportation Systems at RTA’s Public Transport Agency.

“Such updates will enable them to better plan their journeys and minimise potential complaints from changes in timetables for unavoidable reasons.”

He said previously, Google Maps used to display fixed RTA bus timetables without any updates, which might disrupt the journeys of bus riders.

The new initiative aims to overcome delays or early arrival of buses for emergency factors thanks to instant updates now provided.

Accordingly, riders will be aware of their revised journey times.

Real-time updates are run using GTFS-RT system (General Transit Feed Specification - Realtime).