RTA gears up for Phase II of Intelligent Traffic Systems expansion

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Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) has announced that the initial phase of Intelligent Traffic Systems (ITS) Expansion Project, which was completed in November 2020, had increased its coverage of Dubai’s main road network from 11% to 60%.

It is now gearing up for the second phase of the project over the next few months, which will cover the entire main roads of the emirate.

With this, the total length of roads covered by the ITS in Dubai will jump from 480 km to 710 km, stated Mattar Al Tayer, Director General and Chairman of the Board of Executive Directors of RTA.

According to him, the first phase had seen several achievements highlighted by the construction of the Dubai ITS Centre.

"This facility is one of the largest and most sophisticated traffic control centres worldwide in terms of using smart technology, managing traffic systems, and supporting both current and future transportation modes," explained Al Tayer.

"This project is a vibrant technology hub for managing traffic movement in the emirate using the latest applications of artificial intelligence, big data, Internet of Things, and communication systems. It has a whole host of traffic-monitoring devices, information-capturing gadgets, and other smart services. Through ITS, the Centre manages current and future road networks all over Dubai," he added.

Al Tayer pointed out that expanding the ITS coverage was a key element in supporting the government's drive to transform Dubai into the smartest city in the world, which involves the use of smart technologies and software to ease mobility around Dubai.

According to RTA, the project has improved incident monitoring by 63%, shortened the response time to emergencies by 30% and cut the travel time by 20%.

Such improvements are credited to using dynamic message signs, integrating with RTA’s Enterprise Command and Control Centre, and linking with Dubai Police’s Command and Control Centre, he added.