Abu Dhabi Government Powers Taxi Service with GIS and Mobile App

With a population of 1.5 million people, Abu Dhabi, the capital of the UAE, over the past 50 years has been transformed into a modern region with something for everyone, from high-end luxury buildings to wildlife and family-friendly adventures. Abu Dhabi is the largest of the seven Emirates as well as a major tourist attraction. According to the Abu Dhabi Department of Culture and Tourism, the number of international visitors in 2019 reached close to 11.3 million, an increase of 10.5 percent over the previous year.

With its high residential population and number of tourists, public transportation is a critical need for daily life in Abu Dhabi. The most common form of public transit is provided by the 6,390 taxis managed by 8 taxi operators. Taxis provide reliable transportation for residents and tourists throughout Abu Dhabi and other neighboring emirates such as Dubai.

The taxi system is managed by the Department of Municipalities & Transport’s Integrated Transport Centre (ITC). Managing the volume of taxis on the road and the people waiting to catch their next ride quickly and efficiently proved to be a unique challenge for the ITC’s day-to-day operations and the business community in the region. Outdated systems required customers to call ITC centers to book a taxi, but customer service agents did not always have accurate location information, and drivers could not quickly locate customers based off the information provided by the call center staff.

Before private ridesharing companies expanded to the UAE, the ITC identified business needs to improve the way customers booked taxis. Initially, the ITC used open-source location data and mobile mapping apps, but those options had limited capabilities and features, plus the scalability of the mobile application was of concern.

Eventually, ITC built a mobile app with geographic information systems (GIS) technology that includes maps and real-time taxi Mobile Data Terminal (MDT) data, and integration with other taxi dispatch systems and call center services. The app provides a full-service option to passengers who need taxis with several features and functionalities that make it safer and easier to use with the addition of location data. Customers can:

• Book taxis directly sharing location information or chose specific pick-up and drop-off locations.
• Use advance-booking options.
• Choose from among hybrid, street, and satellite imagery basemaps.
• Use geofencing based on trips originating from Abu Dhabi
• Explore nearby available taxis on the map and track a requested taxi as it approaches.
• Understand fare structure based on distance.
• Search for tourist attractions and other points of interest on a map.

Working on top of both Android and Apple devices, the app has won a best in government award as a public app.

The development of ITC’s taxi app supports the region’s tourism expansion and contributes to robust daily life for residents. Implementing GIS with location-based tools, the app has digitized taxireguests, making the process of booking a ride more efficient, pleasant, and safe for both passengers and taxi drivers. Ultimately the mapping technology features in the mobile app have provided accurate location information, and decreased wait times.

The ITC announced that taxi operators in Abu Dhabi provided 15 million trips, carrying 28 million passengers during just the first six months of 2020. The power of location tools in a user-friendly app has over 300,000 downloads,16,000 average daily users, and is consistently rated favorably among customers.