Dubai RTA targets 5% congestion cut under new AI strategy

Summary

• Dubai's RTA launched an updated AI strategy covering 41 areas across its sectors and departments.
• The plan targets over 300 million dirhams in annual added value within two and a half years.
• Half of RTA operations and services are slated to run on agentic AI by end-2027.

The latest

Dubai's Roads and Transport Authority is betting on artificial intelligence to cut traffic congestion by 3% to 5% and speed up case and complaint handling by 20% to 30%, under an updated strategy launched Sunday by Director-General and Chairman Mattar Al Tayer. The plan spans 41 areas and runs two and a half years, covering 40 AI products, 11 of them already delivered, plus 4 foundational projects, according to Khaleej Times.

Details

• The scope: The first two implementation waves concentrate on 11 business areas, including vehicle licensing, traffic, roads, public transport, customer happiness, procurement and human resources, Khaleej Times reported. Twelve departments are executing the rollout, with more than 180 use cases and quick-win initiatives identified so far.
• The targets: Beyond congestion, RTA is aiming to cut waiting times at customer happiness centres by 14% to 16% and service delivery time there by 15% to 20%, reduce new-driver accidents by 10% to 20%, shorten procurement cycles by 10% to 15%, and save 10% to 15% of operational and engineering work hours.
• The assistant: Mahboub, RTA's AI assistant, was rebuilt to complete transactions rather than only answer questions, running through the app, website and WhatsApp. It offers 5 vehicle licensing services and roughly 100 information services, integrating with UAE PASS and Dubai Pay.
• The speed claim: That integration lets motorists finish vehicle transactions in under 5 minutes, according to Gulf News. RTA wants to double service delivery speed and push the share of services handled through Mahboub to 10% by the end of 2026 and 50% by the end of 2027.
• The permits system: An AI system for no-objection certificates guides applicants, runs document checks and issues engineering feedback on works near RTA assets. The authority issues around 130,000 certificates a year, with demand rising about 11%, and is targeting processing three times faster.
• The savings: The eNOC system is projected to save more than 700,000 days annually, lift customer satisfaction by over 5% and raise revenue by 5% to 10%, Khaleej Times reported. RTA did not publish a timeline for reaching those figures.
• The auditor: An agentic AI auditor for vehicle licensing uses machine learning and optical character recognition to flag violations, propose corrections and store audit trails across 7 priority services. Targets include auditing up to 21 times faster, 100% document coverage, and saving over 25,000 manual work hours yearly.
• The bus planner: A bus network planning tool deploys roughly 20 AI agents to analyse indicators, detect service gaps and simulate alternatives. RTA expects analysis five times faster, bus service changes in 48 days instead of about 60, punctuality gains up to 10%, and cost recovery up 3% to 7%.
• The progress: Ahmed Hashim Bahrozyan, CEO of the corporate technology support services sector, said 11 products are complete: 5 in planning and business development, 5 in vehicle licensing and 1 in right-of-way. Microsoft Copilot use among staff exceeds 90%, saving 10% of work time.
• The partners: RTA is running 8 strategic initiatives with partners including Huawei, Boston Consulting Group and Microsoft, Khaleej Times reported. Al Tayer said the strategy "marks an advanced stage in RTA's digital transformation journey."

Between the lines

The congestion target is the softest number in the package. While licensing, auditing and procurement gains are measured in hours and documents RTA directly controls, a 3% to 5% traffic reduction depends on driver behaviour and network conditions the authority's agents only model. The firmest commitments are internal: 50% of operations on agentic AI, 25,000 audit hours saved, 700,000 permit days.

What's next

The first checkpoint is end-2026, when RTA expects 10% of services routed through Mahboub. Watch whether the remaining 29 AI products ship on the two-and-a-half-year timeline, and whether bus service changes drop to 48 days.

Source: Khaleej Times, Gulf News