Dubai’s Roads & Transport Authority (RTA) has recently presented two concept models of a shared transport vehicle, called Sky Pods, as part of its overall drive for innovation in the emirate’s public transport system.

The first model, Unibike, is lightweight and fitted with steel wheels to move on suspended rails.

According to the RTA, each Unibike unit can accommodate up to five riders and travel at a maximum speed of 150 kilometres per hour (kph).

The second model, Unicar, can accommodate up to six riders and travel at a maximum speed of 150kph between high-rise towers.

RTA says the pods will require little infrastructure on land. The Sky Pods use “an area of land that is 100 times less than conventional means [of transport with] the same capacity”, the RTA said in a statement.

The proposed pods’ power efficiency is understood to be five times less than electric vehicles.

The RTA has not provided details about when and where it plans to implement the concept vehicles.

Artificial intelligence

The RTA is understood to have started using artificial intelligence (AI) for various Dubai Metro operations and functions including automated journey planning, line signalling and the prevention of risks such as collision.

The authority said the system has already reduced the metro’s operational costs by 7 per cent and improved punctuality by 6.4 per cent.

The RTA’s $50m command and control centre also utilises AI to handle Big Data, as well as for its simulation system, traffic forecasting, crowd control and self-learning. These tools use advanced, intelligent tools capable of handling 75 million mobility data logs a day, the RTA said.

The RTA also currently uses AI in drones to list and classify its assets and monitor traffic movement, emergencies and accidents. It uses AI in smart cameras, “to spot vehicles using dedicated bus routes”, an initiative that has improved the punctuality of public buses and taxis by 20 per cent while reducing direct and indirect operational costs and carbon emissions, the authority said.

Dubai metro extensions

The RTA is expected to imminently award the study and design contract for extensions to the Green and Red lines of the Dubai Metro.

Local developer, Emaar, is also working with the RTA on plans to build a 2km metro link directly connecting the Dubai Creek Harbour development in Ras al-Khor to Dubai International airport.

Dubai is already working on a 15km extension to the metro’s Red Line. In 2016, the RTA awarded a AED10.6bn ($2.9bn) deal to design and build Dubai Metro’s Route 2020 link to a consortium of Spain’s Acciona, Turkey’s Gulermak and France’s Alstom.