- City Fajr Shuruq Duhr Asr Magrib Isha
- Dubai 05:07 06:20 12:29 15:54 18:33 19:47
The Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) is mulling the use of rental cars to cover the so-called last mile in Dubai.
The last mile is the distance a person covers at the end of a trip, after having disembarked from Metro, Tram or Bus.
It is the distance between the stop where the person got off and the final destination, such as the office or the home, explained Ahmed Bahrozyan, head of the team supervising the implementation of the integrated roadmap for transition into a Smart Government and CEO of the Licensing Agency at the RTA.
Right now the last mile is often covered on foot due to a lack of alternative options.
However, walking is not an option preferred by the population in Dubai, especially during the hot summer months.
"People in Dubai do not like to walk. Therefore, we are looking at alternatives to cover the last mile. Rental cars are one of the options we are looking at," said Bahrozyan.
At the station where the commuter has got off, rental cars would be made available.
"These cars could be rented to drive short distances, for example 200 meters, and be dropped off at another point."
Car rental for short distances has been successful in many countries in the world, such as France, the UK, the US, Germany, the Netherlands and Australia.
Not limited to coverage of the last mile the concept is also referred to as car sharing or car clubs; capturing the idea that people may need to use a car at certain moments, rather than wanting to move around on wheels.
For this purpose, innovators have experimented with a variety of options. The electric car has become a popular choice of car as it can easily be charged in between trips, while at the same time keeping in line with the limited output of carbon emissions that is promoted through the use of public transportation.
Podcars and driverless vehicles have been high on the agenda of industry leaders nowadays for the same reasons.
"In some countries the use of rental bicycles has proven to be successful for the coverage of the last mile," said Bahrozyan.
"However, in Dubai the weather plays a great role and we would benefit more from car rental," he iterated adding that driverless vehicles are also studied as an option.
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