Dubai Taxi Corporation (DTC), part of Roads and Transport Authority (RTA), has inked a deal to rent out 119 smart school buses to Nasser Al Razooqi Trading Group.Â
The vehicles will be used to serve two schools’ requirements, Dubai Media Office reported.
Dr Yousef Al Ali, CEO of DTC, signed the agreement with Maj Gen Nasser Al Razooqi, chairman of the trading group.
Al Razooqi said the contract with DTC to operate the vehicles is “a positive step towards supporting the public-private partnership (PPP)” model in the emirate.Â
The buses are equipped with safety and security features such as surveillance cameras, which are connected to DTC’s control centre and offer footage retrieval when necessary, Dr Ali said.
He added: “These cameras can monitor the continuous movement of the student while seated, and figure out if the student has not alighted from the bus.
“Additionally, the buses are fitted with a GPS satellite tracking system which sends text messages to inform parents of the time their children have boarded or alighted from buses at homes or schools.
“RTA is keen to expand its services to [the school transport] sector, especially in partnership with the private sector.
“DTC has [prepared] contracts for procuring 130 school transport buses according to specific standards to fulfil the needs of operators in this sector; it already has 143 school buses, which brings the total to 273 buses.”Â
DTC’s five-year plan aims to increase its bus fleet to match “growing demand” from the school transport sector, Al Ali noted.
He continued: “Doubling the number of school buses is in response to the growing demand for the service, with the number of students registered [reaching] 3,000.
“[DTC’s five-year plan] envisages endorsing a new set of programmes and initiatives to leverage the school transport service [and] beef up the fleet to as much as 650 buses by 2021.” Â
