Dubai’s RTA has announced new initiatives in on-line and vehicle defect clearing services to further streamline its offerings for commercial vehicle operators.
The initiatives include new on-line payment methods with credit and debit cards for vehicle fleet licensing and registration to improve transaction and payment information.
The RTA also outlined its new Vehicle Defect Clearing Service (VDCS) project, a three- to four-year implementation roadmap due to begin in 2012 aimed at improving the safety of heavy vehicles on Dubai’s roads.
The new initiatives were outlined to an audience of more than 70 manufacturers, dealers, suppliers and service providers in the road transport sector at the third Commercial Vehicles Middle East Business Group meeting at the Emirates Aviation College.
Supported by the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport (CILT), the CVME Business Group is managed by Streamline Marketing Group, organiser of the industry’s annual specialist trade exhibition and conference, Commercial Vehicles Middle East, taking place from 6 to 8 March 2012 at the Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre.
RTA Licensing Agency CEO Ahmed Bahrozyan, and Abdulla Al Mahra, Director of the RTA Licensing Agency, provided details of the new plans at the meeting, before addressing attendees in a panel discussion moderated by Alex Borg, the Middle East regional director for the CILT.
“The expansion of our on-line services makes doing business with the RTA Licensing Agency easy and cost-effective,” said Bahrozyan, who added that up to 100 vehicle registrations can be completed online in a single transaction.
“The VDCS project will focus on improved heavy vehicle safety to reduce road crashes and improve business efficiencies.”
Launched in June 2011, the Commercial Vehicles Middle East Business Group is the region’s first industry-specific business organisation providing forums, year-round statistics, workshops, knowledge sharing, thought leadership and networking events.
Representatives of Al Tayer Motors, Al Futtaim Auto & Machinery Co (FAMCO), Emirates Sky Cargo, 3M Gulf, DHL and Arabian Automobiles discussed the latest issues facing the commercial vehicles industry.
Added Bahrozyan: “The RTA Licensing Agency looks to engage different stakeholder groups such as the CVME Business Group to ensure that our projects achieve the best results for the motor industry and the general community.
“This meeting is particularly important because of the commercial vehicle sector’s special interest in our operations and its insight to different business options that may be considered.”
Located in Dubai, but aimed at having a broad regional influence, the CVME Business Group will work towards reinforcing new optimism that an industry hit hard by the financial crisis in 2008 is now well on the road to recovery.
This confidence is backed by the most recent statistics of commercial vehicle sales in the GCC region, where sales for trucks and buses over 4,000kg gross vehicle weight in 2010 stood at 58,025 units, an increase of 50% from 2009 (38,590).
Over the first three months of 2011, a total of 11,924 commercial vehicles were sold in the GCC, a steady 4% increase over the same period in 2010 (11,433 units sold).
