Roads and Transport Authority – Mohammed Al Munji:

HE Mattar Al Tayer, Director-General and Chairman of the Board of Executive Directors of the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA), has attended the closing ceremony of the 3rd MENA Transport Congress & Exhibition 2018, held in Dubai by the RTA in conjunction with the UITP under the theme (Pioneering for Customers Happiness). Attendees included HE Mohammed Al MEZGHANI, Secretary General of the UITP, HE Khalid Al HOGAIL, Chairman of the Executive Office of UTIP MENA Division, CEO and Board of Director, Saudi Public Transport Co. - Riyadh, KSA, in addition to a host officials from the UAE and overseas.

“Achieving the happiness of public transport users requires cities to be people-friendly and capable of responding to their needs. It also requires bringing happiness to employees to be able to bring happiness to customers. It requires designing mobility packages that suit public transport riders through benefiting from AI, big data and automation besides providing environment-friendly transport and promoting the culture of public transport among students,” noted Al Tayer.

He praised the superb partnership between the UITP and the RTA in holding this Congress and Exhibition every two years, and the event has thus become important to public transport legislators, operators, manufacturers and speakers.

2000 participants

Mohammed Obaid Al Mulla, RTA Board Member and Chairman of the Higher Committee of MENA Transport Congress & Exhibition, said, “The Congress has attracted more than 2000 participants and visitors from the MENA region. They shared ideas and practices of cities of the region facing similar challenges with the aim of providing integrated public transport in the region. The Congress hosted 85 speakers from 21 countries and 49 exhibitors from 17 countries. The event attracted 36 sponsor companies.

“The Congress witnessed the signing of five MoUs, and 200 students from 18 schools were invited to attend. More than 200 drivers and bus conductors were trained on safe driving. The Congress hosted the 4th World Hackathon in partnership with youth for public transport (Y4PT), where 45 students from 21 countries came seeking to develop innovative ideas.”

“Over the past three days, the Congress discussed several topics including the integration of mobility and land use through the establishment of multimedia priorities to ensure the smooth movement of pedestrians and cyclists to make cities happier and liveable. Discussions also covered the role of technologies in facilitating public transport mobility, and developing business models for financing public transportation infrastructure,” said Al Mulla. He stressed the importance of the smart urban mobility in maintaining a premium position in transforming cities into smart cities.

“The share of public transport in people mobility in Dubai has grown significantly in the last ten years, from 6% in 2006 to 16.5% in 2017. The RTA aspires to push this share to as much as 30% by 2030; which requires learning platforms to share best practices and the latest trends of the in industry,” added Al Mulla.

Honouring Sponsors

In the closing ceremony, Al Tayer awarded the sponsors of the MENA Transport Congress & Exhibition. Honourees included The Department of Transport – Abu Dhabi, Dubai Taxi Corporation, Cars Taxi, Wade Adams, Systra, Dubai Technology, Thales Group, Hyundai, GBM, Juma Al Majid, Etihad Rail, INIT, Serkal Group, Dobowi LLC, OWS, ACACUS, Alstom, Metro Taxi, Arthur D Little, Voith, STS, Gulf Computers, KEOLIS, Dell, Al Zarooni, National Taxi, SAAB, Parsons, Arabia Taxi, and the Dubai Maritime City Authority.

Al Tayer also honoured members of the Organising Committee of the Congress, and the Organising Committee of the 2nd Dubai Hackathon taking part in the Hackathon.

-Ends-

© Press Release 2018