Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority has completed linking 4,500 taxicabs of franchise companies operating under the tutelage of RTA with Makani GPS system of Dubai Municipality, a report said.

"Thanks to the sharp accuracy and the easy use of ‘Makani’ System as well as its 100 per cent coverage of Dubai Emirate, the system has played a vital role in executing booking & dispatch orders by cabdrivers,” Adel Shakri, director of Transportation Systems, RTA’s Public Transport Agency, was quoted as saying by WAM, the official Emirates news agency.

“It has made it easy for clients to reach to their intended destinations in Dubai, thanks to its highly accurate positioning feature using interactive e-maps.

"The interface of ‘Makani’ System and the Booking and Dispatch System consists of three major components. One part relates to the client offering the requester the option of making a booking using ‘Makani’ Number through a call to the Booking and Dispatch Center.

“The second part relates to the Booking and Dispatch Center, which acts as a communication channel between the customer and the taxicab enabling the receipt of the request and dispatching it to the taxicab. The third part relates to the taxicab through feeding the booking request in the taximeter along with ‘Makani’ Number of the customer,'' he indicated.

"This initiative brings back multiple benefits to RTA’s Booking and Dispatch System. It facilitates the dispatch of taxicabs to clients using ‘Makani’ Number, and eases the booking process for customers by just citing ‘Makani’ Number. It also reduces the number of complaints related to taxis and cabdrivers such as the late arrival, and the poor knowledge of Dubai geographical zones on the part of drivers," he noted.

"The coverage of ‘Makani’ System of Dubai Municipality spans the entire Emirate of Dubai. About (137) thousand addresses have been registered in the Booking & Dispatch System of Taxis and (4,500) taxicabs have been linked to the System. A number employees of Public Transport Agency have been trained on the interface of ‘Makani’ System with the smart taximeter. They are being groomed to give further training & education to taxi drivers in Dubai Emirate," explained Shakri.