Abu Dhabi commuters will have an automated fare collection system applied in all public buses next year. Rich-Joseph Facun / The National
Abu Dhabi commuters will have an automated fare collection system applied in all public buses next year. Rich-Joseph Facun / The National
Abu Dhabi commuters will have an automated fare collection system applied in all public buses next year. Rich-Joseph Facun / The National
Abu Dhabi commuters will have an automated fare collection system applied in all public buses next year. Rich-Joseph Facun / The National

Bus fares to be automated


  • English
  • Arabic

ABU DHABI // Passengers will be able to pay bus fares in the capital with a new automated card system.

Machines that sell and top up the cards, with payment by cash or credit card, are being installed in main bus stations in Abu Dhabi and Al Ain, and in shopping malls.

Three hundred machines for topping up cards will also be installed at Abu Dhabi and Al Ain bus stations, customer-care centres, bus shelters, Abu Dhabi airport, shopping malls and hospitals. Machines at bus entry and exit doors will calculate and deduct the fare, providing passengers with information about the balance.

There will be an on-board service on intercity buses, enabling passengers to purchase temporary cards or reload their permanent cards by paying the driver directly.

Cardholders can also visit ticket offices at Abu Dhabi and Al Ain bus stations to purchase and personalise their cards with names and photos, renew them, pay fines for breaking public transport rules or lodge a complaint. A lost and found service will also be available.

The system, called Hafilat, which means buses in Arabic, will be introduced next year. No date has been set. The Department of Transport will review public feedback after the official launch.

Khaled Mohamed Hashem, the executive director of the land sector at the department, said it was working on plans to equip cards with additional features, including mobile or online payments and the ability to pay for other transport-related services such as taxis, ferries and Mawaqif, or for non-transport related services, such as cinemas and football matches.

newsdesk@thenational.ae

MEYDAN RESULTS

6.30pm Baniyas (PA) Group 2 Dh125,000 (Dirt) 1,400m

Winner ES Ajeeb, Sam Hitchcock (jockey), Ibrahim Aseel (trainer).          

7.05pm Maiden (TB) Dh165,000 (D) 1,200m

Winner  Galaxy Road, Antonio Fresu, Musabah Al Muhairi.

7.40pm Maiden (TB) Dh165,000 (D) 1,400m

Winner  Al Modayar, Fernando Jara, Ali Rashid Al Raihe.

8.15pm Handicap (TB) Dh170,000 (D) 1,900m

Winner  Gundogdu, Xavier Ziani, Salem bin Ghadayer.

8.50pm Rated Conditions (TB) Dh240,000 (D) 1,600m

Winner George Villiers, Tadhg O’Shea, Satish Seemar.

9.25pm Handicap (TB) Dh175,000 (D)1,200m

Winner  Lady Parma, Connor Beasley, Satish Seemar

10pm Handicap (TB) Dh165,000 (D) 1,400m

Winner Zaajer, Fernando Jara, Ali Rashid Al Raihe

Dubai Bling season three

Cast: Loujain Adada, Zeina Khoury, Farhana Bodi, Ebraheem Al Samadi, Mona Kattan, and couples Safa & Fahad Siddiqui and DJ Bliss & Danya Mohammed 

Rating: 1/5

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Sole survivors
  • Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
  • George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
  • Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
  • Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
Lexus LX700h specs

Engine: 3.4-litre twin-turbo V6 plus supplementary electric motor

Power: 464hp at 5,200rpm

Torque: 790Nm from 2,000-3,600rpm

Transmission: 10-speed auto

Fuel consumption: 11.7L/100km

On sale: Now

Price: From Dh590,000

The burning issue

The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE.

Part three: an affection for classic cars lives on

Read part two: how climate change drove the race for an alternative 

Read part one: how cars came to the UAE

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Specs

Engine: 51.5kW electric motor

Range: 400km

Power: 134bhp

Torque: 175Nm

Price: From Dh98,800

Available: Now

MOUNTAINHEAD REVIEW

Starring: Ramy Youssef, Steve Carell, Jason Schwartzman

Director: Jesse Armstrong

Rating: 3.5/5