ABU DHABI // Testing has started on a dispatching system that will allow passengers to call for a taxi and permit drivers to locate them using a GPS system.
The scheme could be operational as early as next month, sources say, although officials at the Centre for Regulation of Transport by Hire Cars (TransAD) would not commit to a date.
The service could be launched first in Shahama or Al Ain before being introduced in Abu Dhabi. Around 1,300 taxis are equipped with mobile data terminals.
The tracking devices would allow companies to pinpoint a driver's precise location, monitor speed, whether it was on hire or available, if the ignition was on or off and how many trips had been made.
"It will be like we are inside the taxi with the drivers," said Tariq Quwaider Bafleh, the general manager of Emirates Taxi.
For Dh2.50 (US61¢), between 6am and 10pm, and Dh3 during later hours, residents would be able to call a 24-hour dispatch centre staffed by 12 operators, and have a taxi sent to them.
Drivers would be sent a message when a passenger was waiting and could then view their exact position.
They would also be able to check how much they had earned that day and to communicate with the call centre.
TransAD and CERT Info-track Telematics, the company providing the mobile devices, have programmed the GPS units with the location of nearly every major landmark, named building and main road in the emirate.
The system will be updated when a new address scheme, which will result in each street in Abu Dhabi being given a unique name, and buildings numbered, is introduced.
The planning stage should be completed by mid-September and the system is expected to be operational by early next year.
In the meantime, TransAD is asking users to be patient while the new dial-a-taxi programme is introduced, explaining that passengers, call-centre staff, drivers and franchisees will all have to learn to use the new system effectively.
A phone-in service is already in place in Dubai, and the Dubai Taxi Agency, which last month added 1,000 vehicles to its fleet, said it had received many complaints from passengers left waiting for long periods.
Still, Sally Soheili, 24, a business executive with DLA Piper in Dubai, said a phone system could be useful to passengers who booked a taxi far enough in advance.
"In rush hour [in Dubai] you can be waiting for up to two hours on the street trying to get a cab,"she observed. "But, with the service, if you book in advance, it's very efficient so it will be good for Abu Dhabi and will save you waiting in the heat."
Reem Mohammed, 28, an office administrator at an IT company in Abu Dhabi, said she had her doubts that the service would make any significant difference as long as there was a shortage of taxis and other transit options.
"Taxis never seem to be available," she said at about 5pm, after calling two taxi companies and being told no drivers were available. "I guess it seems to be a problem of not only quantity and availability, but [the driver's] lack of knowledge of the city's streets as well."
Jolie Santos was also sceptical of the scheme, but said she would "give it a try".
"If I came outside and saw too many people waiting I might call," she said.
Meanwhile, Amer George Oweis, 31, said he thought the system would "definitely work".
"It won't necessarily make my life easier, because I have a car, but it's definitely a better system."
TransAD said a campaign to promote the call centre's launch date would precede the system's roll-out.
About 2,500 of the new silver taxis have been introduced by the city's seven taxi franchisees so far, said Huda al Kaabi, TransAD communications officer. TransAD phased out approximately 800 of the older gold and white taxis but had slowed that roll-out during the summer months.
mchung@thenational.ae
German intelligence warnings
- 2002: "Hezbollah supporters feared becoming a target of security services because of the effects of [9/11] ... discussions on Hezbollah policy moved from mosques into smaller circles in private homes." Supporters in Germany: 800
- 2013: "Financial and logistical support from Germany for Hezbollah in Lebanon supports the armed struggle against Israel ... Hezbollah supporters in Germany hold back from actions that would gain publicity." Supporters in Germany: 950
- 2023: "It must be reckoned with that Hezbollah will continue to plan terrorist actions outside the Middle East against Israel or Israeli interests." Supporters in Germany: 1,250
Source: Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution
Emergency
Director: Kangana Ranaut
Stars: Kangana Ranaut, Anupam Kher, Shreyas Talpade, Milind Soman, Mahima Chaudhry
Rating: 2/5
THE BIO
Occupation: Specialised chief medical laboratory technologist
Age: 78
Favourite destination: Always Al Ain “Dar Al Zain”
Hobbies: his work - “ the thing which I am most passionate for and which occupied all my time in the morning and evening from 1963 to 2019”
Other hobbies: football
Favorite football club: Al Ain Sports Club
How to protect yourself when air quality drops
Install an air filter in your home.
Close your windows and turn on the AC.
Shower or bath after being outside.
Wear a face mask.
Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.
If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
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Stars: Ram Charan, Kiara Advani, Anjali, S J Suryah, Jayaram
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THE DETAILS
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Starring: Rajinikanth, Huma Qureshi, Easwari Rao, Nana Patekar
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Name: Almnssa
Started: August 2020
Founder: Areej Selmi
Based: Gaza
Sectors: Internet, e-commerce
Investments: Grants/private funding
Guide to intelligent investing
Investing success often hinges on discipline and perspective. As markets fluctuate, remember these guiding principles:
- Stay invested: Time in the market, not timing the market, is critical to long-term gains.
- Rational thinking: Breathe and avoid emotional decision-making; let logic and planning guide your actions.
- Strategic patience: Understand why you’re investing and allow time for your strategies to unfold.
COMPANY PROFILE
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Total funding: Self funded
Cryopreservation: A timeline
- Keyhole surgery under general anaesthetic
- Ovarian tissue surgically removed
- Tissue processed in a high-tech facility
- Tissue re-implanted at a time of the patient’s choosing
- Full hormone production regained within 4-6 months
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
FROM%20THE%20ASHES
%3Cp%3EDirector%3A%20Khalid%20Fahad%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EStarring%3A%20Shaima%20Al%20Tayeb%2C%20Wafa%20Muhamad%2C%20Hamss%20Bandar%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3ERating%3A%203%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A