Dubai’s RTA endorses five-year sustainability plan

Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) has endorsed a five-year sustainability plan that extends from 2021-2025.

The plan encompasses 20 projects: nine for environmental leadership, six for community leadership, and five for economic prosperity in the context of RTA’s sustainability framework, according to Mattar Al Tayer, director general, chairman of the Board of Executive Directors of the RTA.

The plan includes multiple public transportation projects that supports the Dubai Smart Mobility Strategy and aims to convert 25 per cent of total transportation trips in Dubai into self-driving trips on various transportation means by 2030, according to Dubai Media Office.

Read: Dubai to begin trials of driverless taxis this year

Earlier this year, the RTA and the US-based company Cruise signed an agreement to begin trials on Cruise autonomous vehicles offering taxi and e-hailing services this year in Dubai. Dubai will become the first city outside of the US to operate such vehicles. In 2023, a limited number of Cruise autonomous vehicles will be deployed with a plan to increase them to 4,000 by 2030. Dubai expects the benefits of self-driving technologies to be valued at more than Dhs22bn per year. As part of its 2030 vision, it is aiming to reduce transportation costs by Dhs900m annually and save Dhs1.5bn a year by reducing environmental pollution by 12 per cent using this self-driving technology.

.@rta_dubai endorses 5-Year Sustainability Plan 2021-2025. The step is taken as part of RTA’s efforts to improve maturity levels of sustainability and become one of the most sustainable government entities in the field of roads and transport worldwide.https://t.co/Xtvwifh9lT pic.twitter.com/4oWSQCdK25

— Dubai Media Office (@DXBMediaOffice) April 17, 2022

The new five-year sustainability plan also supports the integration of mass transit means in Dubai.

The economic projects aim to achieve a circular economy and support RTA’s plan for recycling 100 per cent of the waste of RTA’s operations and projects by 2030.

“The sustainability plan considers the assessment of all RTA’s projects and initiatives. It measures the environmental, societal and economic impact of RTA’s sustainability projects, and the extent to which such projects are linked with the important topics disclosed in RTA’s annual sustainability report,” said Al Tayer.

“The plan is set to have a significant environmental impact on reducing carbon dioxide emissions, enhancing the resilience of public transport infrastructure and its impact on climate change, and achieving RTA’s strategic objective of enhancing safety and environmental sustainability.”