RTA Urges School Managements To Take Part In Dubai Award For Sustainable Transport

The Higher Organizing Committee of the Dubai Award for Sustainable Transport (DAST) at the Roads & Transport Authority (RTA) called for paying continuous attention to school transport and highlighted the need of bolstering this sector considering the vital role it plays in the life of a wide segment of students of different age groups. The RTA called for such attention to be exhibited in the participation of schools and school transport operators in the School Transport category of DAST with a view to enhancing their contribution in broadening & upgrading this sector to keep abreast of the education boom seen by the UAE.

A statement to this effect was made during the workshop held by the Committee in RTA Head Office for which it invited scores of school managements across the UAE to discuss with the issues & topics of common concern with the aim of drawing up the best conclusions capable of boosting the participation of schools in the forthcoming editions of the Award.

Dr. Khalid Al Zahid, Chairperson of DAST Committee, said: "Through taking part in these workshops & rendezvous we aim at exchanging views, and developing constructive comments to come with highly valuable concepts through suggesting the best solutions & practices for improving school transport in the Emirate of Dubai.

"Through launching the Award, the RTA is seeking to hit multiple objectives that include raising the awareness of individuals & social institutions to play an effective & positive role in teaming with the RTA in realizing its objectives of upgrading the infrastructure and public transport systems, and showcasing the leading role they play in boosting the partnership and cooperation with various institutions & strategic partners in the field of transport, safety and conserving the environment. The Award is also aimed at raising the profile of sustained transport in an effort to place it among the key issues of concern to organizations, diffuse the awareness and promote the sense of responsibility as well as the initiative among all community segments, fostering successful initiatives in mobility, safety and environment and diffusing them within various institutions, and nurturing innovation and the initiative spirit in various fields of mobility to maximize the benefit of the community.

"DAST is a practical demonstration of RTA strategy aimed at enhancing the fruition of its vision of providing Safe & Smooth Transport for All in keeping with the ongoing development seen by the Emirate in the business, economic, tourist and real estate sectors among others. This initiative is a crucial step in engaging the business community, government & semi-government entities as well as private institutions in supporting RTA efforts aimed at achieving multi-modal integration of different transit means.

The gathering was interceded by a visual presentation about the Award; which started with the definition of various categories of the Award, including School Transport category, winners of the previous rounds, standards set for bidding for the Award, and the organization chart of the panel of the Award’s Jury; which comprises independent members with diverse and extensive expertise. The presentation also highlighted the simple and quick steps of participation through the portal of the Award, and narrated the sponsors of the Award from the government, quasi-government, and private firms.

"The Award comprises four categories: Managing & Streamlining Mobility Processes, Transport Safety, Conserving the Environment, and Special Need Persons categories as these categories are among the key pillars of sustainable transport. The first category comprises a host of initiatives & practices made to reduce the total reliance on mobility via private vehicles, reducing the number of person trips, eliminating the need for mobility on private vehicles, increasing the use of mass transit means such as public buses, marine transit means and the metro, boosting the traditional mobility patterns such as walking & cycling, improving the transit experience of special need persons, and rolling out any initiative or practice capable of enhancing the optimal use of parking areas," continued Al Zahid.
Promotion of standards

"The second category is based on initiatives and practices that contribute to raising the levels of security and safety for different transport means users, through the promotion of standards and performance levels associated with a number of elements, such as transport users, by focusing on the knowledge and compliance with the laws of safety and safe practices during the operation or usage of any transport means, and making each transport means safer by enhancing the security element, such as roads, parking lots, bus stations, railway, and marine transport facilities, among others.

The third category is concerned with all initiatives capable of reducing the adverse impact of transport modes on the environment, thus reducing the resultant air pollution. This category also includes other initiatives or practices that reduce the levels and impacts of noise and visual pollution, besides the impacts of pollution caused by oil, batteries and other remnants of various transport means by using modern and innovative solutions.

The fourth category includes all initiatives and practices that care for the welfare of people with special needs through providing the necessary infrastructure they require, such as those available at the RTA including modern, low-floor buses and parking lots in addition to the Dubai Metro, which is fitted with all facilities for people with physical, visual and auditory disabilities, in addition to encouraging companies, government, semi-government and private institutions to adopt such practices and applications that cater to this segment in order to integrate them in the community.

"Two awards are allocated for two sub-categories: the first category is for the best academic research on transport, provided that the research focuses on raising a sustainable transport issue related to the key categories, in addition to analyzing the current position and benchmarking it to the best international practices in order to come up with new viable recommendations contributing to improving the transport system in the Emirate of Dubai. This is the only category in DAST oriented towards individuals, where all academicians, researchers as well as universities, institutes and colleges are entitled to participate. The second sub-category award would be allocated to the best media coverage of all award events, activities and the latest updates. It is oriented towards governmental, quasi-governmental and private media organizations.

For their part, the representatives of school managements thanked the DAST for organizing this gathering, enabling them to review the work mechanism of the Award with all its categories, especially in the school transport category, which is an important opportunity for them to effectively contribute to the expansion and development of sustainable transport in the country through bidding in the award competitions.

Emirate:  Dubai

Date: May 14, 2012

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