Dubai: RTA to now use smart platform to monitor real-time traffic flow, slash delays

Khaleej Times

a day ago

Dubai's transport authority will now be using a smart platform to analyse historical and real-time traffic flow on the emirate's roads over the past five years, in addition to real-time traffic data, the RTA announced on Monday, August 11.
The digital platform called 'Data Drive – Clear Guide', will help the authority instantly identify road conditions, analyse speeds, recurring traffic patterns, times of smooth traffic flow, congestion points, traffic jams, and other traffic elements.
One of the main goals of the platform is to help reduce delays on the road via the real-time monitoring of traffic diversions and events. This will help concerned RTA teams to intervene swiftly, take appropriate measures, and minimise resulting delays.
The platform also further allows automated report generation, with results assessed and analysed before and after road works, helping to evaluate project effectiveness and support effective decision-making based on large, reliable, and continuously updated datasets.
Officers will be able to see real-time road conditions on an interactive map. The geographic area or street to be analysed can be specified based on indicators that help identify the road to be studied, such as average speed, traffic density, and travel time.
Process explained
Before the new system, procedures depended on manually gathering information from various sources, such as consultants or field teams, or on reports compiled manually based on traffic variables, which led to delays in analysis and decision-making.
Now, information that once took weeks to compile and analyse can be obtained in real time within minutes.
At every stage, the platform relies on historical and real-time data from leading international specialist firms that supply vast volumes of traffic information, which is then processed using intelligent tools to deliver an accurate, instantaneous picture of traffic conditions.
It provides instant messages and notifications about traffic movement on the emirate's streets, thereby supporting decision-making in addressing day-to-day changes.
The platform also offers advanced analytical tools for assessing traffic performance over different timeframes — or on specific days and weeks — and benchmarking results against five years of historical data. This enables evaluation of traffic conditions and comparison of performance across those periods, as well as the detection of recurring congestion patterns or bottlenecks and any sudden or unexpected drops in speed, thereby improving response times and the efficiency of developing solutions.