emirates7 - Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) has served 37.3 million users during Expo 2020 Dubai, which constitutes 67 percent to the total usage of transport services at Expo, Mattar Al Tayer, Director-General, Chairman of the Board of Executive Directors of RTA, revealed.

The number of riders carried out by public transport modes (Dubai Metro, public buses), taxis and e-hail rides (Careem and Uber) reached 26.3 million. He noted that RTA’s transit means served 37 percent of Expo visitors, and about 11.038 million motorists used RTA’s parking slots during Expo.

"We had succeeded in providing unique, easy and fast transportation services for both participants and visitors of Expo 2020. The integrated infrastructure of road and transportation networks, as well as the master mobility plan developed by RTA in cooperation with strategic partners, was instrumental in facilitating the movement of residents and visitors from Dubai and other emirates to Expo 2020," said Al Tayer.

"From October 1st, 2021 to March 31st, 2022, the Dubai Metro service to Expo 2020 clocked at 8.203 million riders covering more than 5.717 million kilometres. Public buses (Expo Rider) constituted for 15.525 million riders covering more than 7.357 million kilometres. The bus service was run by four types of services: Expo Rider Inter-city had 1.096 million riders, Expo Rider Dubai had 1.414 million riders, Parking Shuttles to the three Gates (Opportunity, Mobility and Sustainability) made 10.2 m riders, and People Movers between gates had 2.814 million riders. Taxi and e-hail ride services had 2.584 million riders," explained Al Tayer.

"RTA managed more than 29,000 parking slots at the site of Expo at several zones (Opportunity, Mobility, Sustainability, World and Nissan Parking). 11.038 million users used RTA’s parking services. RTA used sophisticated technology to manage parking to ensure a safe and smooth flow of vehicles to and from the parking lots. It included the use of smart messaging signs and the management of parking through a smart system connected to the traffic movement control centre to identify the vacant parking slots at the site. The Call Centre received more than 30 thousand calls, and customers satisfaction rating exceeded 92 percent," he added.

RTA has constructed integrated infrastructure to serve Expo 2020 Dubai, costing more than AED15 billion. High on the list is Route 2020, a 15-kilometre extension of the Dubai Metro connecting seven stations served by newly procured 50 trains.

The Authority constructed a wide roads network comprising 138 lane-kilometre and 9 flyovers in addition to deploying more than 200 public buses featuring the highest international specifications. It provided 18 stations and bus stops in Dubai and key cities across the UAE, besides providing more than 15,000 taxis and limousines.

RTA managed more than 29,000 parking spaces at the site of Expo, and employed smart technologies, applications and artificial intelligence to facilitate the movement of Expo visitors via metro, buses and taxis. RTA’s preparations to serve Expo included the construction of the Enterprise Command and Control Centre (EC3), one of the biggest and most sophisticated roads and transport control centres worldwide in terms of employing smart technologies in traffic management.