The Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) announced that the number of users of the Journey Planner system, branded as Wojhati, has clocked 1,636,369 users in 2016, thus leapfrogging the 1,168,234 users recorded in 2015 by as much as 44%. Uses of Wojhati system are recorded through its website as well as its apps on smartphones and gadgets.
Mohammed Abdullah Al Ali, Director of Planning & Business Development, RTA’s Public Transport Agency, said: “This sharp rise in the number of users from 2015 to 2016 reflects a quantum shift in the attractiveness of this smart system whose number of users has been on the rise since launched in late 2013. Recording more than 1.6 users last year means that the service is achieving its intended objective of bringing happiness to customers. It reflects RTA’s keenness to provide services compatible with the directives of Dubai Government in developing new technologies capable of bringing happiness to customers. RTA spares no effort to realize such a vision that shapes the future of Dubai and ranks it as the smartest city worldwide.
“Wojhati system provides all information about buses, Metro, tram, and marine transport needed by public transport commuters in Dubai, be it residents, visitors or tourists descending on the Emirate from all over the globe. The information provided by Wojhati covers scheduled arrival timing of the public transport mode required as well as the time remaining for its arrival, applicable fare, guidance about the required destinations and alerts in case of delays. It also includes a feature enabling commuters to track the movement of buses en route. Wojhati uses satellite coordinates to identify the location of the user when its system on the smart phone or device of the user is switched on, and accordingly provides all details about the set destination. Tourists have been given due consideration at the time of designing the app as it provides them with guidance about the use of public transport means in Dubai to assist them to travel to their destinations from various locations. The system can also function offline as it has a feature of saving the schedules of the journeys required in the phone and using them any time needed,” explained Al Ali.
“Among the updates introduced to Wojhati is that it is Arabic-enabled on iPhone, Android and Black Barry devices. It is the first journey planner app that supports the Arabic language in the world. Moreover, the Arabization is a built-in feature of the Windows Operating System, a first time in the Middle East, and the second time worldwide after the Federal Republic of Germany. Wojhati had also been fitted with the Augmented Reality technology and this feature creates an interactive environment based on augmenting the reality and integrating it in the system such that the user can pinpoint the stops and routes of public transport means and metro services in a real time environment. The user can also obtain information about timetables and distances automatically from any location by just pointing the camera of the smart phone to any direction from any location,” he added.
“Wojhati encourages the use of public transport means as it offers them handy information about mass transit means via smartphones covering details of journeys such as routes and timetables. It opens to users options for optimal routes and means for reaching destinations in the fastest time and least effort. Such features would contribute to raising public transport ridership, and reduce carbon emissions from private vehicles, which is another objective the RTA seeks as part of its strategy to achieve a safe and healthy environment,” concluded the Director of Planning and Business Development, RTA’s PTA.
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