Emirates NBD signs contract with RTA for staff shuttle bus service

The agreement comes after RTA was selected as the preferred provider for the shuttle bus service that will transport over 1300 Emirates NBD employees to and from their residences across Dubai, Sharjah and Ajman.

Present at the signing ceremony were H.E. Mattar Al Tayer, Chairman of RTA, Hesham Al Qassim, Vice Chairman of Emirates NBD, Rick Pudner, Group CEO, Abdulla Qassem, Group Chief Operating Officer, Emirates NBD and Eisa Al Dosari, Chief Operating Officer of RTA as well as members of the executive management from both institutions.

In his comments, H.E. Mattar Al Tayer said that RTA is keen on promoting best practices and programs for transport management in order to contribute to the reduction in traffic congestions and minimize the number of trips using personal cars. RTA is also keen on resolving problems arising from the limitation in parking spaces in areas that are near public and private institutions. Furthermore, RTA encourages members of the community to use public transport because of its benefits on the environment, economy and the society at large. Moreover, public transport reduces the psychological and physical pressures that employees undergo on daily basis because of continuously driving for hours in high traffic which will reflect positively on the productivity and the effectiveness of the employees ensuring that they arrive and leave their work locations on time.

H.E. Al Tayer expressed that he is pleased with the signing of the agreement with Emirates NBD for the transport of the bank employees from their residence in Dubai, Sharjah and Ajman to their office locations. RTA will provide 45 buses from the Public Transport Agency to transport 1300 employees in 2200 trips monthly on more than 50 routes. This agreement is another sign of success following the Authority's efforts to provide transport services to Emirates Airlines employees for commuting from their offices to Dubai residential areas using the Public Transport Agency buses.

Commenting on the occasion, Hesham Al Qassim, Vice Chairman of Emirates NBD said that the bank is pleased to be working with the Roads and Transport Authority, one of the leading transport providers in the UAE. This agreement signifies a new milestone in Emirates NBD's efforts towards providing its most valuable asset, its employees, with world class transport services. He mentioned that the bank's transportation team has been working closely with the RTA team and Department Administrators to ensure that all current shuttle service users are mapped to the RTA service. The launch of the new shuttle bus services further confirms Emirates NBD's keen interest in supporting a clean and eco-friendly environment.

Al Qassim concluded that the Emirates NBD shuttle bus service runs daily with 78 buses across 16 different routes and that, in line with its commitment towards supporting environment sustainability, Emirates NBD has opted to work with a world class ground transportation provider like RTA as a means of reducing its carbon footprint.

All RTA vehicles run on Euro 5 engines that use smoke free diesel and support low carbon emissions. Moreover, RTA's usage of a specialised software for route mapping will reduce journey times and access to priority lanes will further aid in avoiding traffic. The implementation of the service by RTA is tentatively scheduled for 1 March, 2013.