Dubai’s RTA awards contract for 900 new taxis

Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) has awarded a contract for procuring 900 new vehicles for the Dubai Taxi fleet, it announced on Sunday.

The new lot includes 370 hybrid vehicles fitted with dual fuel-electric power motors.

The new vehicles include 142 Toyota Camry, 193 Toyota Innova, 123 Hyundai Sonata, 370 hybrid Toyota Camry, 55 Lexus, 15 Nissan Altima, one Toyota Hiace and one H1, a statement said.

Yousef Al Ali, CEO of Dubai Taxi Corporation, said: “A limited tender was released where official invitations were made to auto dealers and strategic partners of the DTC in the context of solid bilateral cooperation over 23 years.

“Under the contract, Al-Futtaim Automotive, Arabian Automobiles Company and Juma Al Majid Establishment will provide technical support and supervision to the DTC, any time needed.

“They will also provide theoretical and practical training to the staff and technicians of the DTC on the new vehicles. A copy of the maintenance Manual will also be provided for mechanical, electric and body repairs along with spare part manuals,” he added.

Also read: Dubai adds 50 Tesla electric vehicles to taxi fleet

The new vehicles will help meet increasing public demand for taxis, said Mattar Al Tayer, RTA director-general and chairman.

“The procurement of 370 hybrid vehicles is part of RTA’s commitment to curb carbon footprint of taxis by 2 per cent as required by the Dubai Supreme Council of Energy and the Green Economy drive,” he added.

Last year, the RTA awarded a contract for procuring 554 hybrid taxis, as part of its strategy to convert 50 per cent of all Dubai taxicabs into hybrid vehicles by 2021.

Read more: Dubai’s RTA awards contract for 554 hybrid taxis

Dubai’s RTA to boost taxi fleet by 40% to 7000 by 2021

The Dubai government has also announced plans to make up to 10 per cent of its new fleet orders electric and hybrid vehicles.

Dubai is currently undertaking a smart autonomous mobility strategy aimed at converting 25 per cent of total journeys into driverless journeys by 2030.