His Excellency Abdullah Al Marzouqi, Director General of the Integrated Transport Centre in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi toured Yas Island to review the “Abu Dhabi Link” on-demand bus service. Accompanied by Mohamed Abdalla Al Zaabi, CEO of Miral, to assess its performance and evaluate the quality of the service. The service was launched on 13 May 2021 in Yas Island through a collaboration between both entities to provide a high-quality experience for residents and visitors to Yas Island with a world-class public transport offering.
What is the “Abu Dhabi Link” Bus On-Demand Service?
The bus on-demand service provides commuters, upon request via their smartphones, a transport service to commute within the same area or transfer them from their locations to the nearest station, public transport service, or any other destination within the area in which the bus operates. This service has been established based on “first and last mile” principle that guides the operations of minibuses within specific areas in the Emirate, on demand using a smart app. It also encourages people visiting and residing in these areas to use public transport services in their local commutes, reduce walking-distance, limit private vehicle traffic, and create time efficiencies.
Ordering this service
The service can be requested quickly and easily through the ‘Abu Dhabi Link’ application, where customers can download the application from Apple Store and Google Play on smart phones and smart devices. They can then identify the pick-up and drop-off locations with a suitable pick-up time. The application will then present when and where to meet the driver, along with details about the bus including its type and plate number. The user will also be able to access real-time tracking on the application.
Easy and Smart transport
The service offers visitors and residents of Yas Island the opportunity to commute between various destinations including malls and leisure venues on the Island, in a smart and convenient way. These include hotels, Ferrari World, Yas Marina Circuit, Yas Mall, Yas Waterworld, in addition to various residential areas and neighbouring areas like Al Zeina, Al Muneera and Al Bandar.
At the end of the tour, H.E. Abdullah Al Marzouqi, Director General of the Integrated Transport Centre praised the efficiency of the on-demand bus service and commended its simple and swift process. He also recognized the quick response time from the moment a passenger requests a pick-up to the start of the journey. Once booked, passengers can track the location of the bus in real-time.
Al Marzouqi called on the residents of Yas Island to download the “Abu Dhabi Link” application, try the “Bus on Demand” service, evaluate it themselves, and provide ITC with their feedback or suggestions to enhance the quality of the service. This is in part of ITC’s keenness to include the public as part of the development process and to enable it to offer services that meet the public demand.
He highlighted that the offering this service is an outcome of a close collaboration between ITC and Miral, that leverages strategic partnerships, offers smart services to facilitate the public commutes and enhance the quality of life in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi.
Al Marzouqi added that the on-demand bus service enhances the integration of the public bus transport network and supports ITC’s to expand its services, diversify transport options, as well as making public bus services closer to homes. This enables the public to commute to their destinations quickly, comfortably and safely.
Al Marzouqi expected that the new service in Yas Island will receive a positive response from residents and visitors, especially during entertainment and sports events hosted in the island, given its convenient, innovative and smart approach. The service is convenient because of connecting passengers to various attractions and destinations in Yas Island in a timely manner.
He also affirmed that ITC is committed to further develop public transport services in cooperation with its stakeholders and expand the operation of the bus on-demand service to additional areas in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi. The service aims to diversify the transport options for communities, facilitating their daily commutes within the emirate.
Mohamed Abdalla Al Zaabi, CEO of Miral, commented: “Today, I had the honour of accompanying His Excellency Abdullah Al Marzouqi, Director General of ITC, on board one of the on-demand bus service. This smart service, which was recently launched, will enhance the experience of visitors and residents of Yas Island. It aims to provide users with a comfortable travel experience between various destinations. The launch of the bus on-demand service will further position Yas Island as a top global destination for entertainment, leisure and business, while leveraging digital and smart solutions to enable convenience and comfort.”
It is worth to mention that the service is offered for free during its preliminary phase and will be available daily in Yas Island from 06:00 AM to 11:00 PM. ITC expanded the service in Yas Island after the positive feedback the service received after its launch in Al Shahama in October 25, 2020. Since the launch of the service, it conducted over 100,000 passenger trips so far and 20,000 users downloaded the Abu Dhabi Link application.
The bus on-demand service was conceptualised by ITC and Miral to operate in Yas Island, following a study conducted by the two organisations to accelerate the development of public transport in Yas Island. This followed the previous signing of an agreement to develop public transport infrastructure in Yas Island and improve the quality of transport services for residents and visitors of the Island. In order to make public transport accessible to everyone, ITC continues to further its efforts to establish a sustainable public transport system. This complements Miral’s vision to position Yas Island as a top global destination for entertainment, recreation, and business.
The bus on-demand service follows all precautionary and preventive measures implemented to ensure the health and safety of users. All buses are subject to regular and intensive sterilisation in the evening after the completion of their daily working shift to maintain the health and safety of users.