Dubai's Roads & Transport Authority (RTA) said it has won the Gulf Engineering Innovation Forum Award for its automated vehicle management (AVM) system.

The award is aimed at honouring excellence and creativity in two main themes namely: highlighting the joint Gulf engineering efforts and triggering the spirit of competition, innovation and excellence in various engineering disciplines.
 
Abdullah Yousef Al Ali, the chief executive of RTA’s Public Transport Agency received the trophy on behalf of Mattar Al Tayer, the director-general and chairman of the RTA board at a ceremony held recently in Kuwait.

The event, which was sponsored by Sheikh Jabir Al Mubarak Al Hamad Al Sabah, Kuwaiti Prime Minister, saw extensive participation from several GCC entities.

On the award, Al Tayer said: "It is a further addition to the stellar record of achievements made by RTA that boasts of a host of strategic projects and initiatives capable of uplifting the profile of the UAE and Dubai across the region."

"This will motivate RTA staff to recharge their efforts and do their level best in the projects underway," he noted.

Al Ali said the current AVM system has contributed to reducing the operational costs of the public bus fleet by as much as Dh200 million ($54.4 million) through saving about 36 million wasted km per annum.

This has had a clear impact on cutting fuel, maintenance and lubrication costs, and taking Dubai to the threshold of the digital era through Google Maps rendering it the first city in the Mena region in this score, he added.-TradeArabia News Service