Smart meters being installed in 10,500 Dubai taxis

The new meters will be connected with an aman or safety system to monitor the speed of taxis.

All cabs in Dubai - 10,550 vehicles - will be fitted with the smart meter by the end of June 2018, according to the Roads and Transport Authority. Courtesy RTA

High-tech meters are being fitted on more than 10,500 taxis in Dubai.

The smart meters include the Makani (My location) 10 digit co-ordinates to accurately locate addresses and updated maps to access destinations required.

All cabs in Dubai will be fitted with the smart meter by the end of June 2018, according to the Roads and Transport Authority.

The Dh68.8 million system will also include an automated calculation of Salik or toll tariff when the cab passes under a toll gate, the RTA said in a statement.

The Makani address signs have been put up at the entrances of buildings, villas, metro stations, warehouses, hotels, schools, mosques and farms across the emirate.

The co-ordinates contain a QR code that can be viewed using the Makani app or other geolocation apps that can be downloaded on smartphones.

The new meter system also has an ‘Out of Service’ option to give drivers a 90-minute flexible break per shift.

It will also display an ‘End of Shift’ message so commuters are aware the taxi driver is at the end of the shift and cannot be hailed during the last 45 minutes to enable an easy handover of the vehicle to his partner.

The meter is linked to an ‘aman’ or safety system to monitor the speed of taxis on internal streets and main roads.

Optical sensors will detect when the passenger boards the cab in case the driver forgets to turn on the meter, the RTA said.

The Public Transport Agency completed installing 4,850 devices as of June with the number expected to rise to 7,850 by year-end.

Some 5,010 taxis are already linked with Makani or Dubai Geographic Addressing System with about 118,000 booking requests through Makani handled during the first half of this year.

Mattar Al Tayer, director-general and chairman of the board of executive directors of RTA, has reviewed the time chart for installation of the taximeters.

He said the RTA would continue upgrading the taxi services with smart systems and high-end technology to meet customer needs.