Dubai’s RTA announces launch of ‘Click and Drive’ initiative to enhance digital services

Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) has announced the launch of the ‘Click and Drive’ initiative, which aims to help customers with activities ranging from “reengineering” their journeys to helping them obtain driver’s licenses.

RTA is the first government entity in the world to offer an integrated digital experience for obtaining a driver’s license.

Mattar Al Tayer, director-general and chairman of the Board of Executive Directors of Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority (RTA), who announced the launch, stressed RTA’s standing commitment to enhancing vehicle and driver licensing services and supporting the migration to digital and smart platforms.

“These efforts aim to realise the vision of HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President, Prime Minister of the UAE, Ruler of Dubai, and the directives of HH Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai, Chairman of the Executive Council, to transform Dubai into the world’s smartest city. Achieving this goal warrants delivering services at levels that exceed customers’ expectations, which will pave the way for bringing more happiness to residents and visitors of Dubai,” he said.

Al Tayer also announced a series of initiatives in support of the digitisation of vehicle registration services, including a first-of-a-kind mobile eyesight testing service in the region.

The mobile eyesight test is operated in a vehicle at a time and place selected by the customer against an additional fee, enabling the instant renewal of the driver’s license. Offering this optional mobile service contributes to RTA’s pioneering role and excellence in service delivery.  The service is accessible through prior booking via the support centre of Al Jaber Optical enabling the payment of fees and selecting of appointment dates. After the test, the customer can download the test result, renew the license, and receive an electronic or printed copy of the new license.

Al Tayer explained, “The Click and Drive initiative helped in achieving 92 per cent of the digital transformation and reduced the average service delivery time by 75 per cent (from 20 to 5 minutes). It also saved customers’ time and effort by slashing the service procedures from 12 to 7 steps, resulting in a 53 per cent drop in customer visits to driving institutes. The initiative achieved high-performance indicators such as increasing customer satisfaction from 93 to 97 per cent, improving the service delivery period from 87 to 97 per cent, easing the use of service from 88 to 94 per cent, and enhancing the accessibility of service from 90 to 94 per cent.”

“The digitisation of vehicle licensing services entails revamping the existing processes and designs of all licensing services and delivering them in smart packages that ensure streamlined customer procedures. Moreover, transforming all services into paperless services via smart channels serves the goal of digital adoption. RTA has reengineered more than 50 per cent of vehicle licensing services and will complete the process in Q4 2022. The first stage of the project yielded significant results, including the transfer of vehicle ownership without visiting the service centres, thereby facilitating the service delivery and accelerating the processing time,” he added.

Al Tayer also spoke about the efficacy of the Transportation Activities Rental System (TARS), a first-of-its-kind system that uses blockchain technology to issue smart car rental contracts in Dubai. “The system improved the standards of governance in the car rental business, facilitated the monitoring of operational processes, and raised the efficiency of inspection and controlled operations by automating tasks, which saved the time and effort of RTA’s inspectors. It has also integrated data by linking RTA’s system to the systems of other relevant government entities and provided added services to the car rental market,” elaborated Al Tayer.

“From the launch date in September 2021 to June 2022, TARS achieved high performance indicators. The total number of rental contracts exceeded 840,000 contracts and the number of processed transactions went over 520,000 transactions. In addition, the system added about 118,000 vehicles, registered 1451 companies, and completed 2518 inspections,” he said.

in recent news, RTA has signed an agreement with the Australian bus manufacturer BusTech Group to test the operation of an eco-friendly, zero-emission electric bus to verify its operational feasibility in Dubai’s climatic environment.

Read: Dubai’s RTA signs agreement to trial eco-friendly electric bus