Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) will build air-conditioned rest areas for delivery riders across the city to enhance road safety and reduce the risks of road accidents.
As many as 40 such rest areas will be built in key areas to offer comfortable amenities to delivery riders while waiting for new orders, thereby increasing their overall happiness rating and encouraging them to comply with traffic laws and regulations.
Thousands of delivery riders of Deliveroo, Noon, Talabat and other companies deliver F&B and other orders every day in various parts of the city. These facilities will ensure that bike riders properly relax as and when there is no order to be delivered. The number of companies offering motorcycle delivery services in Dubai grew to 2,891 in 2022, representing a 40 per cent increase compared to the previous year, 2021.
2 rest areas ready
RTA has already completed the construction of two rest areas in Al Barsha, and the remaining ones are scheduled for construction in three phases. All rest areas are expected to be operational by July 2024.
According to the study commissioned by RTA, several rest areas are planned in Arabian Ranches, International City, Business Bay, Al Quoz, Al Karama, Al Satwa, Al Jaddaf, and Mirdif, as well as other districts of the emirate.
Each rest area is equipped with a snack dispenser, water cooler and mobile phone charging station. It can accommodate up to 10 people and has ample parking spaces for motorcycles adjacent to the facility. The exterior of the rest areas was designed to reduce the impact of sunlight and ensure proper insulation.
“The construction of these rest areas is part of RTA’s efforts to provide a proper working environment for delivery riders, given the substantial growth of the delivery business in recent years to meet the public demand for goods. RTA has charted out an integrated structure for the delivery market to uphold the quality of services provided to the public, including a professional certification of delivery riders,” said Mattar Al Tayer, director-general and chairman of RTA.
“Traffic safety is a top priority and RTA is keen to implement the traffic safety strategy in place for the emirate aimed to rank Dubai a global leader in traffic safety,” he said.