Dubai’s RTA begins taxi booking service via Careem app

Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) announced on Sunday that its agreement with taxi sharing app Careem is now underway and that people in the city can book public taxis online via the app.

The move, first revealed in October, gives Careem users access to 10,000 vehicles operated by six franchised companies, a statement said.

Those in Dubai can now book a public cab via Careem, track it and check details of their bookings.

The agreement marks the first time such a service is being provided by the private sector, the RTA said.

RTA had previously signed an agreement with Careem for offering limo-booking service using 4,700 vehicles.

Adel Shakri, director of Transportation Systems, RTA’s Public Transport Agency, said: “Activating the online taxi booking service via Careem app is within the framework of the smart city initiatives and the open data law.

“RTA provides multiple channels for booking taxis in Dubai including the Booking and Dispatch Center (04-2080808), Smart Taxi app, and RTA Dubai app; all of these platforms would be running besides Careem app.

“The activation of the online taxi booking service via Careem app would boost the Dubai integrated transport platform project, which is currently being undertaken by RTA. The project supports the acceleration of the technological infrastructure of online mobility booking,” he added.

The integrated mobility platform project aims to provide customers “easy access to all transit means” in Dubai through a smart app.

All of RTA’s multi-modal transit systems including the metro, tram, buses, marine transit means, and taxis will be integrated with limo service providers, Palm Monorail and Dubai Trolley as part of the platform.

The integration of these platforms is expected to be completed by the end of this year and will be undertaken via several phases.

Also read: RTA to launch own payment app with Uber and Careem

Careem resumes services in Abu Dhabi under new regulations