Huge corporate response to Dubai Sustained Transport Award

The Award aims at sourcing the best solutions & practices to develop and expand sustained transport in the emirate of Dubai.

Engineer Eisa Abdul-Rahman Al-Dosari, CEO of RTA Public Transport Agency and Chairman-cum-Secretary General of the Supreme Committee of the Award, stated that RTA launched Dubai Sustained Transport Award last year with a view to achieve a host of objectives. These objectives include educating individuals & social entities to play an effective & constructive role in realizing RTA vision of providing safe & smooth transport for all. They also include showcasing and reasserting the leading role of the RTA in revitalizing the partnership and cooperation with various entities and strategic partners in the field of transport, safety and conserving the environment. The Award aims to highlight the importance of sustained transport in a bid to make among the key corporate concerns, disseminate the awareness, and promote the sense of responsibility & initiative spirit in a wide spectrum of the community, particularly businesses. It also seeks to promote and support successful initiatives in the fields of mobility, safety & environment, and spread them at the corporate level. It also contributes to stimulating & promoting creativity, leadership and cutting-edge innovative concepts in various mobility fields in order to obtain maximum possible benefit to all. Moreover, it provides technical support and high level expertise to the community and organizations through establishing a Resource Center for Dubai Sustained Transport Award.

He added, "Dubai Sustained Transport Award is a practical manifestation of the strategic objective of the RTA to provide safe & smooth transport for all in a way compatible with the ongoing progress in business, economic, tourist, real estate and other vital fields in the emirate. This initiative plays a crucial role in involving the business sector, beside government and semi-government agencies, in developing concepts which are extremely valuable in boosting RTA efforts to accomplish integration between various modes of public transport.

"The Award is divided into three categories; namely: Managing & Streamlining Mobility Operations, Transport Safety, and Conserving the Environment. These categories are cornerstones upon which sustained transport is based. Managing & Streamlining Mobility Operations includes a number of initiatives & practices; which contribute to reducing the huge reliance on private vehicles in mobility and reducing the number of person trips made by them. It also seeks to obviate the need for mobility by private vehicles, and increase the ridership of mass transit modes such as public buses, marine transport and trains. It covers promoting traditional mobility methods such as walking & cycling, enhancing the movement & mobility of special need persons, and any other initiative or practice that can lead to optimum utilization of the main parking lots for private vehicles.

"Transport Safety Category is concerned with initiatives & practices contributing to upgrading security & safety levels for users of transport modes through enhancing relevant standards. This could be achieved through nurturing needed knowledge, and promoting the compliance with safety rules & practices during operation or use of all transport modes. This warrants upgrading safety levels such that there will be more safety in all transport modes, such as vehicles, buses, heavy vehicles, water transport means, trains and transport facilities. Enhanced safety aspects of transport facilities such as roads, car parks, bus stops, rail stations, marine transport facilities & others, are crucial to maintaining overall transport safety.

"Conserving the Environment category is concerned with any initiative or practice capable of minimizing the negative impact of transport modes on the environment, through suppressing air-pollution levels resulting from the waste of various transport modes. It includes any initiative or practice to reduce the levels of audio or visual pollution resulting from any transport mode, and any initiative or practice to redress or minimize the levels & impacts of pollution resulting from oils, batteries, and other wastes of transport modes through developing new & creative solutions.

"Dubai Sustained Transport Award is targeting a number of entities such as government and semi-government agencies, as well as local & federal government organizations such as agencies that have their HO in Dubai, or have branches or subsidiaries in the emirate. These entities also include private sector organizations such as companies engaged in commercial or industrial activities classified as private or semi-private companies. They also include public benefit institutions such as societies and clubs, as well as social, professional, sports and charity organizations.

"The Award is subject to a number of standards, such as the title or name of the initiative, the concept and evolution methodology, application scenario, achievements, results & assessment, and promotion.

"Establishing a safe, integrated and effective transport system, ensuring safety of passengers and road users, and conserving the environment are among the key challenges confronting the existing organizations responsible for planning, designing and implementing roads network and transport systems. The ongoing efforts focus on developing an integrated transit system capable of coping with transit requirement.

"Studies and site surveys compiled in various parts of the globe reveal that such an array of objectives could hardly be achieved without having in place an integrated multi-faceted system covering improving & developing road networks, providing good public transport modes, and developing & implementing sound transport policies & legislations. Objectives also include optimizing the utilization of traffic technologies, and enhancing the role of transport system users through launching initiatives & practices to ensure an integrated & sustained development of transport system. These objectives could be achieved through stimulating factors that contribute to the enhancement of individual & corporate roles and achievement of integrated and sustainable transport systems,"

added Al Dosari.

He hailed the effective role played by leading public & private sector entities and their contribution in upgrading all walks of life, including a sustained transport system and advanced transport network in Dubai that rises up to the high profile enjoyed by the emirate as a premier regional business center and a point of attraction of investors & businessmen from the world over.

Al Dosari concluded his remarks by highlighting the importance of coordinating all individual & corporate efforts with the efforts of the RTA and affiliated agencies aiming to provide integrated transport solutions that are safe, smooth, environment-friendly and affordable. "From our part, we are always seeking to provide all sorts of support to decision makers in various business sectors in developing policies & plans to develop all transport models. RTA is also seeking to come up with recommendations to ensure that transport modes will not have a negative impact on any on the active sectors in the emirate of Dubai".

It is note-worthy that the deadline for receiving applications for participation in Dubai Sustained Transport Award from government and semi-government agencies as well as private sector organizations is 30 October of this year.