The Roads and Transport Authority has partnered with Network International, a payment solutions provider, to allow Dubai’s taxi fleet to accept payments by Nol, credit and debit cards or through mobile phones.
As per the plan, which is part of the Smart Taxi project, the Automated Fare Collection system (Nol) will initially be operational on 20 airport taxis, with activation on 1,000 more airport taxis to take place over the next two months.
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The Smart Taxi project intends to transform Dubai’s cabs into an intelligent transport system, featuring digital sign boards and interactive LCD screens on rear seats.
By the middle of 2015, the entire fleet of Hala Taxis, including those owned by five franchises, will be upgraded to begin accepting Nol and credit card payments.
Riders will have to pay an additional service charge of Dh2 per trip for credit/debit card payments and Dh1 per trip for Nol card payments.
The upgraded payment system will also allow use of NFC-enabled phones to make payments of taxi and other transport related fares.
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By GlobalDataRTA Public Transport Agency CEO, Dr Yousuf Al Ali, said: "We started with airport taxis because we received a lot of requests and suggestions from tourists and visitors to equip taxis with a credit card payment system. This will definitely help tourists who don’t carry cash and it will also help those who prefer to use a single payment method like Nol for their transport needs."
