Dubai: In a new initiative to raise customer satisfaction regarding its bus services, the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) is now sending text messages to its bus drivers in their mother tongues to keep them motivated.
The text messages are sent to the drivers’ mobile phones directly from the Operation Control Centre (OCC), which also uses the latest technology to monitor every movement of around 1,250 public transport buses that are in operation.
The initiative is part of RTA’s effort to improve the level of safety on buses and reduce the number of accidents.
Eisa Abdul Rahman Al Dossary, CEO of RTA’s Public Transport Agency, said, “As part of our efforts to improve mass transit services and uplift the standards of safety and security on board public buses, we have recently launched a distinct package of initiatives primarily aimed to push customer satisfaction rating to as much as 87 per cent, and achieve the targeted bus drivers’ satisfaction rating of 75 per cent this year.”
Al Dossary said that the focus of the idea is to stay connected with the drivers by using the latest technology and giving them regular feedback on their behaviour and performance that will allow them to improve continuously.
“The system will send two text messages to drivers in each shift via RTA Bus Control Centre in a bid to encourage drivers and uplift their morale, reduce traffic accidents and accordingly achieve higher levels of safety and security for passengers and road users,” Al Dossary added.
One of the targets of the initiative is to ensure the number of complaints does not exceed 22 per 100,000 passengers.
The Public Transport Agency has also distributed brochures informing drivers on how to avoid accidents, while motivating them to achieve the best scores as laid down by the driver reward manual.
According to the manual, drivers are rated and rewarded according to their annual performance, which is monitored live.
Al Dossary launched the initiative in person by sending the first SMS to drivers through the OCC.
