Taxi bookings carried out by the Booking and Dispatch Center at the Public Transport Agency of Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) has touched 12,367,866 bookings in 2018, recording in the process a 17% rise compared to the figure reported in 2017 that was 10,573,855 bookings.

“The average time taken to dispatch taxis to clients last year clocked 11.35 minutes. The Center has carried out benchmarking with Singapore and Western Australia to work out the rate of successful bookings made within 10 minutes; which amounted to 62% last year. The Center aims to improve the number of bookings handled and meet customer needs as quickly as possible,” said Mohammed Nabhan, Director of Passenger Transport Activities Monitoring, Public Transport Agency, RTA

The average time taken to respond to incoming calls at the Booking & Dispatch Center was just 5 seconds in 2018, thus leapfrogging by 89% of the average reported in 2017, which was 11.2 seconds.

The customers satisfaction rating achieved by the Booking and Dispatch Center carried out through a self-rating system linked with the Interactive Voice Response (IVR) System amounted to 82.6% last year, compared with 80.4% in 2017, which reflects a 3% rise.

“Last year, the Center received 6,814,800 calls. About 4,879,396 of those calls were fully automated and handled through the IVR system; which amounted to 71.6% of the total calls received. The number of booking requests made through Smart Apps amounted to 201,851 requests,” he added.

Nabhan stressed RTA’s standing commitment to bringing happiness to clients across the community by using state-of-the-art technology in delivering a diverse package of services. “RTA is always keen to ensure that transaction processing is smooth, quick and transparent when responding to the needs of the public, including taxi users, and make the services of this sector are as luxurious & unique as possible.”

“RTA’s efforts to bring happiness to clients is reflected in the number of complaints about the services of the Center. There was a 77% drop in the number of complaints received last year; which were only 17 compared to 74 complaints in 2017. This substantial decline in the number of complaints is attributed to the intensive training undertaken by customers service staffs as part of the approved training programs of the ‘Dubai The Model Centre’ for government Call Centers.

“RTA continuously endeavours to upgrade its services and offer innovative solutions to citizens, visitors and tourists through using cutting-edge technologies in delivering diverse services at par with the best practices of advanced countries.

“The taxi sector is undergoing an increasing demand fuelled by the rapid urbanisation seen by Dubai, which is shaping into a premier business hub for investors & business leaders descending on the city from all parts of the globe.

“In line with its corporate values and strategic objective of bringing happiness to people, the RTA has endorsed ten initiatives for improving the conditions of taxi drivers. These initiatives will be implemented over the next two years and are bound to improve drivers’ satisfaction, which will reflect positively on providing better services to taxi riders in Dubai. It will also contribute to realising RTA’s vision of Safe & Smooth Transport for All,” concluded Nabhan.