Dubai Roads & Transport Authority (RTA) has announced that taxicabs in the emirate have broken the 100 million barrier in the number of trips made in 2013 clocking 100.2 million trips compared to 97.4 million the previous year, according to Trade Arabia.

Adel Mohammed Shakri, the director of transportation systems, Public Transport Agency, (RTA) credited the franchise companies operating taxicabs in Dubai (Dubai Taxi, Cars Taxi, Arabia Taxi, National Taxi, and Metro Taxi) and their concerted efforts and resources as well as the studious efforts made by the staff of the Booking and Dispatch Center towards realizing the vision of the RTA in providing a safe and smooth transport for all, according to the report.

D8 system operates the fleet of the Dubai Taxi in the emirate which comprises more than 8,700 taxicabs, including the all new service "HALA Taxi" and enables pinpointing the positions, speeds and all data of the fleet at any time during the day, according to the report. It also generates operational reports that specify the efficiency of the taxi fleet, and controls the details of more than 18,000 taxi drivers including performance reports, revenues, and shifts timetables. The system is classified among the world’s most flexible technological systems in terms of integrating and interfacing with other high tech systems, Shakri told Trade Arabia.

Among the salient features of the D8 system is the zoning of areas in a smooth and easy manner rendering it easier for taxi drivers to comprehend areas and locations, enabling them access to the borderlines and geographical milestones on the border of each zone.

This helps the dispatch of booking and receipt of booking by cabdrivers in the nearest location to the customer, thus minimizing the rate of drivers declining booking as the system is designed to select the unengaged vehicle in the nearest location to the customer, said Shakri.

The system can identify the most and least popular areas for taxi riders, which contributes to distributing taxis to areas according to demand and number of riders in that area in keeping with the demand for the service, according to the report.

Shakri also noted the system can report the most and least responsive and co-operative cabbies with the Bookings and Dispatch Centers.