Cameras and monitoring devices that measure the number of waiting passengers could cut the time commuters spend in long queues at busy Dubai venues.

The Roads and Transport Authority on Saturday announced the launch of a smart time management system at exhibitions, conferences and malls.

This will help the transport authority obtain real time data on the numbers of visitors and deploy more taxis where required.

Passengers will also have access to information about the number of available vehicles and the expected wait time.

The system has been tested during two events at the Dubai World Trade Centre and the Dubai Mall and both trials recorded a drop in waiting time.

Screens were placed at the start, middle and end of the queue, another device counted visitors and sorted out the type of service required along with an instrument that measured customers’ satisfaction.

Linked to a computer server, the system has cameras to read the number plates of taxis at entry and exit points and additional cameras to monitor the event.

The idea was developed to cope with the queues that form when people wait for transport after attending any of the more than 500 events that Dubai hosts every year.

Transport experts made field visits to get first-hand feedback, assess the customer need for taxis and submitted a study to pinpoint challenges passengers encounter when ordering taxis during conferences.

Mattar Al Tayer, chairman of the RTA’s board of executive directors, said it was part of the agency’s aim “to deliver services that exceed customer expectations and make them happier.”

Taxis in Dubai have transported more than 87.8 million passengers in the first half of this year.

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