Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) has launched an AI-powered decision support system designed to manage bus deployment across the city’s public transport network, cutting response times from as long as 60 minutes to under one minute.
The system, developed by RTA’s Public Transport Agency through its Bus Operations Control Centre in partnership with the Authority’s Artificial Intelligence Centre, monitors more than 1,100 buses and is built to handle 26 distinct operational scenarios. It draws on real-time data, machine learning, and optimisation algorithms to identify and dispatch the most suitable buses according to live conditions on the network.
“The Decision Support System has been developed by RTA’s Public Transport Agency through the Bus Operations Control Centre in collaboration with the Artificial Intelligence Centre within the Corporate Technology Support Services Sector. It relies on advanced technologies that enable it to reduce the time required for decision-making and bus deployment from 30 to 60 minutes to less than one minute, enhancing response speed and the efficiency of operational resource management. Through the Artificial Intelligence Centre and RTA’s enterprise Dataiku platform, we have been able to develop advanced capabilities to support real-time decision-making, contributing to greater efficiency in managing operational processes and reinforcing RTA’s leadership in harnessing artificial intelligence to support the smart mobility ecosystem,” Marwan Al Zarooni, Director of Buses at RTA’s Public Transport Agency said in a statement.
Al Zarooni added that the system also strengthens the bus network’s ability to respond to disruptions or changes in other transport modes, including Dubai Metro and Dubai Tram, helping to maintain service continuity across the wider network.
The initiative is part of RTA’s broader push to integrate artificial intelligence into public transport operations, in line with Dubai’s smart city ambitions.
