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

The Dubai regulator (RTA) presented a new five-year plan which will not only increase the number of taxicabs of the Dubai Taxi Corporation (DTC) but will also see a 50 per cent of the taxis converted into hybrid vehicles.

Business Times reports that Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority has revealed a new five-year plan that will see the emirate’s taxi fleet grow 40 per cent by 2021, it announced on Saturday. Under the plan, the fleet of the Dubai Taxi Corporation (DTC) is set to increase from 5000 in 2015 to 7000 by 2021. The number of limousines is also increasing by 340 per cent from 113 vehicles in 2015 to 500 vehicles by 2021. “The increase in the number of taxicabs is required to cater to the growing needs of customers comprising residents and visitors as well as the requirements of hosting the Expo 2020 in Dubai,” said RTA director general and chairman Mattar Al Tayer. The plan will also see 50 per cent of the taxicabs converted into hybrid vehicles by 2021. This is part of the target to cut carbon emissions in the taxi sector by 2 per cent as stipulated by the Dubai Supreme Council of Energy and the green economy transition, said Al Tayer.
“This step is prompted by the deregulation of fuel prices, and the reduced lifespan of hybrid vehicles compared with conventional vehicles. Thus, the number of hybrid vehicles at the disposal of the DTC would soar from 145 vehicles in 2015 to 2280 vehicles in 2021,” he added.

At the same time the RTA plans to “overhaul” the school transport sector to encourage parents to send their children by school buses rather than private vehicles, it said. Putting school children in taxis to take them to school is quite a common practice in the emirate. That’s why a new raft of programmes and initiatives will be introduced to improve the school transport services run by the DTC through supplying the fleet with eco-friendly buses fitted with sophisticated technologies and safety and security means. The number of school buses in operation will also be hiked by 450 per cent from 117 buses in 2015 to more than 650 buses by 2021, said Al Tayer.