As the UAE prepares to host the COP28 UN Conference on Climate Change in late 2023, Abu Dhabi’s transport stakeholders have been working to elevate the emirate’s profile as a test bed for future mobility concepts. With the overarching goal of advancing smart, safe and sustainable mobility, the Integrated Transport Centre (ITC) of the Abu Dhabi Department of Municipalities and Transport has emerged as a key player in this area.
Safe & Sustainable Mobility
While the emirate’s transport sector relies on personal cars, over 85m journeys were made using public transport during the first six months of 2023, a 22% year-on-year increase. This positive trend is likely to persist as the emirate continues to develop new transport solutions.
With regards to smart mobility, the ITC has been steadily developing its Smart Mobility Project on Yas Island and Saadiyat Island since 2021, which marked the launch of a fleet of 12 autonomous vehicles. The vehicles had completed 17,000 passenger journeys as of August 2023. Additionally, the bus network is being improved, with an expansion of the areas covered by Abu Dhabi Link, a bus-on-demand service coordinated by a mobile app. In 2022 the ITC introduced the Abu Dhabi Express, a non-stop bus service that connects Abu Dhabi City to key locations in the emirate without any stops in between, departing at intervals of approximately 20 minutes during off-peak hours and every 10 minutes during peak hours.
Taken together, the expansion of public transport services and ongoing efforts to improve road systems and driver and pedestrian awareness have resulted in notable progress in safety. Since 2018 the fatality rate per 100,000 inhabitants has dropped by 23%, from 5.7 to 4.4. Additionally, micromobility options are being encouraged, with the ITC launching the Regulation on the Use of Bicycles and Electric Bikes in 2022.
Amid decarbonisation efforts, the Abu Dhabi government anticipates that 50% of all vehicles in the emirate will be electric by 2040. An important step to fulfil this ambition will be the development of centralised charging and service stations for electric vehicles. These will be built by national oil major ADNOC and will complement charging points installed throughout the emirate.
Data-Driven Partnerships
In another smart mobility initiative, the Abu Dhabi Digital Twin project, presented at GITEX Technology Week in November 2022, aims to utilise aerial photography, 3D scanning and game engines to enhance the ITC’s ability to manage the emirate’s transport system. The information gathered through the Abu Dhabi Digital Twin project will add to the databanks maintained at the ITC’s Big Data Warehouse, which are regularly leveraged to improve traffic flow, reduce congestion and inform a range of policies, from urban planning to public health.
This focus on technology is expected to facilitate public-private partnerships. For example, in May 2023 the ITC and Google signed two agreements. The first agreement is for the development of Project Green Light, an analytical system that utilises artificial intelligence (AI) techniques to improve the efficiency of traffic lights. The second agreement leverages Google’s AI Platform to analyse big data generated from Google Maps, forecasting traffic, identifying areas of high congestion and developing proactive plans to minimise it. Additionally, in May 2023 Paris-based mobility data platform Vianova became the ITC’s partner in generating insights on the usage of micromobility options.
Pioneer Potential
Through public-private cooperation, Abu Dhabi is positioning itself as a global leader in smart city infrastructure. “Abu Dhabi is becoming a pioneer in leveraging big data for urban planning in order to understand and anticipate behaviours, address traffic congestion, and ensure the emirate is prepared for a more connected and sustainable future,” Abdullah Mohammed Maatouq Al Marzouqi, director-general of the ITC, told OBG. The ongoing commitment to sustainable and efficient transport sets the stage for continued advancements in smart mobility systems in Abu Dhabi.
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