Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority, RTA, and Careem announced the launch of their taxi e-hailing service in Dubai under a joint venture, JV, titled, 'Hala', which will officially offer its services to customers from September.

The 'Hala' logo is designed to reflect the transformation of the taxi e-hailing experience provided through the partnership, which will be simpler, transparent and reliable.

Speaking during the launch, Matar Al Tayer, Director-General and Chairman of the Board of Executive Directors of the RTA, said, "Hala" is an important milestone in the strategic partnership between the RTA and Careem that supports the efforts of Dubai’s government to make Dubai the smartest city in the world.

This partnership is the first of its kind worldwide between a public transport authority and a private company specialising in smart booking, he added.

"Hala started a trial e-hailing service for Dubai Taxis in May on 2,000 vehicles whereby a great deal of rides were booked using the Careem app experiencing substantial growth over the subsequent weeks. The service was rated at no less than four out of five stars. The estimated time of arrival, ETA, has already reached an average of 4.5 minutes versus the previous average of 12 to 14 minutes, and aims to reach an ETA of three minutes in September. Fifty percent of RTA’s taxi fleet will be bookable on the Careem app. The trial period witnessed excellent customer and driver satisfaction," Al Tayer explained.

Mudassir Sheikha, Co-Founder and CEO of Careem stated, "Customers will be able to find the taxi closest to them on demand, see a fare estimator and time of arrival, and connect their credit card for easy, hassle-free payment. It also means less downtime for the captains (drivers) who can optimise their time on the road through customer proximity matching and real-time alerts of geographical areas experiencing high demand."