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Shake a Dubai taxi
Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) announced at the Gitex exhibition that it is all set to become a “smart” experience by year-end.
Passengers can expect the ability to do everything from “shaking” down a taxi to checking flights on board and paying by credit or NoL cards.
To begin with, a potential passenger needs to download the Smart Taxi app on his smartphone. It’s a free application, the first of its kind in the region, that allows him to book and track taxi orders in real time.
Once downloaded, a unique “shake-a-taxi” concept will allow the customer to fetch a cab by merely shaking his cellphone. The idea stems from the same gesture as waving your hand to flag down a taxi.
The customer would need to enter his contact number and the application will automatically look for available taxis nearest to him. When the cab is identified, the driver will confirm the pick-up and notify the customer in real time along its journey. “The customer will get all the details about the taxi, including the name and picture of the taxi driver by the time it reaches him.”
Instead of the current guessing work that is done to find out if a taxi is vacant, new smart taxi signs will leave no room for doubt. Every taxi on the road will have a message that clearly states if it is vacant, hired or booked, according to which it will show a green, red or orange light.
Once inside the taxi, the passenger can feel a difference. All taxis will have Wi-Fi, so the passenger can make the most of it. We will be installing LCD screens on which he can get flight information, make check-ins, find out about events and do a variety of other tasks.
The screens will be installed in phases and the Dubai Taxi fleet of 3,500 vehicles will be the first to get them. When the journey is over and it’s time to pay, the passenger can select three modes of payment: cash as is the current case, credit card or a smartphone-enabled NoL card. This is expected to be particularly beneficial to tourists who may not be carrying cash or the local currency. Passengers will also be able to rate the drivers’ performance on a five-star-scale when they disembark.
In addition to taxi bookings, the application allows passengers to schedule a taxi at any date or time. If the customer is near a taxi park, walking directions to the taxi will also be provided.
- Inputs from Xpress/Gulf News.
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Giant duck row in Dubai
It may all seem a bit silly in the first place. Even the whole idea might seem rather ridiculous to some. But there are some real issues in this matter that deserve a word or two.
A giant yellow duck that visited Dubai earlier in the week and was launched on the creek on Sunday is a major infringement of the work of a Dutch artist, Florentijn Hofman, the artist behind a similar giant duck which has toured the world claims. The duck was commissioned by Dubai-based carwash firm GeoWash in China to raise awareness of water consumption, the company said, whilst at the same time promote the company's own "green and mobile" carwash systems.
The award-winning Dutch artist created his duck as a "global artwork" and it has visited numerous harbours around the world including Amsterdam, Sydney, Osaka, Sao Paulo and Pittsburgh. Reportedly, more than a million people have visited the duck.
In a press released to local and regional media, GeoWash stated that this was the duck that had visited just those places thus implying that it was in fact the Dutch artwork being displayed on Dubai Creek. They also made intensive use of social media such as Facebook and Twitter.
When Mr. Hofman contacted the company, their tweets were deleted and the Facebook page removed.
According to 7Days, Hofman is currently seeking legal counsel over the infringement of his rights which he feels GeoWash have violated. Hofman says he was already in talks with people in Dubai about having his duck visiting, plans which he now had to cancel.
The CEO of GeoWash, Abdullah Al Shehi, said that Hofman had been "mistakenly" claimed by GeoWash to be the designer of and the artist behind the duck. The company bought the duck in China and it was towed to Dubai directly from there. It did not visit any other ports, Al Sheni claimed.
Problems with infringement of copyright and other rights is a major problem in the UAE and foreign companies and right-owners face a hard time pursuing and enforcing claims against violators based in the emirates. I am personally in the process of trying a claim against a local solicitor who has been using one of my photos for advertising purposes and I have come to realise that unfortunately fighting for your rights can be very much an uphill battle in the emirates.
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