Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) has unveiled a wide-ranging strategy centered around artificial intelligence. Announced during Dubai’s AI Week, the plan introduces 81 projects set to overhaul how people move across the city.
The initiative is part of the RTA’s commitment to becoming a leader in smart mobility, aligning with the UAE’s broader vision to harness technology for public service.
A Vision for Smarter Mobility
The new AI strategy is built around six major goals, each designed to drive innovation while improving the daily lives of Dubai’s residents and visitors:
- Improving customer satisfaction by using AI to make services faster and more personalized.
- Creating seamless and innovative mobility solutions through smart systems that make commuting easier.
- Enhancing traffic management with real-time data and AI-powered traffic lights to reduce congestion.
- Upgrading licensing services, making them faster and more efficient through digital automation.
- Future-proofing the transport network so it’s ready for new challenges and technologies.
- Managing public assets smarter, using AI to monitor infrastructure and predict maintenance needs before problems arise.
Matar Al Tayer, Director-General and Chairman of the RTA’s board, emphasized that this initiative supports the UAE’s broader AI roadmap and strengthens Dubai’s digital infrastructure. He pointed out that artificial intelligence and big data have become essential to the city’s ongoing progress.
Expected Results by 2030
The RTA believes that, once implemented, this AI strategy could lead to:
- Up to 30% reduction in travel times thanks to more intelligent traffic signals and pedestrian systems.
- A 25–40% increase in employee productivity using automation and data tools.
- 10–20% savings in operational costs through better planning and predictive maintenance.
- Up to 35% increase in customer happiness, with AI creating smoother and more reliable transport services.
- Stronger partnerships and compliance, with expectations of a 30–50% boost in partner engagement.
Big Data at the Core
Behind these ambitious projects is a growing data infrastructure. Since 2017, RTA has been investing heavily in data platforms that now interact with nearly 50 institutional systems and handle over 280 digital services. With a yearly growth rate of around 30%, the platform currently stores over 670 terabytes of data—equivalent to about 235 billion printed pages.
Dubai continues to lead the way in smart city innovations, and the RTA’s AI strategy is another major step in making the emirate one of the most technologically advanced cities in the world.
