Dubai: Soon, pay for car parking through WhatsApp

Motorists in Dubai will be able to pay for their parking tickets through the social media app WhatsApp in the next two weeks, a senior official said on Sunday.

Ahmed Mahboub, executive director of parking at Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) in Dubai, said this new payment method is under the testing phase internally and will be rolled out in less than two weeks.

“People will be texting the same information that they send on 7275. The same content will be WhatsApped and then it will seek confirmation from the customer. It’s the same method that people use for SMS parking. The amount will be deducted from the digital valet,” he said.

With the use of WhatsApp, motorists will not have to pay 30 fils that they pay to UAE’s telecom service providers when paying for parking tickets using SMS.

He also pointed out that RTA has improved its smart map that helps to find the exact location for the parking ticket.

Cycling track monitoring

Meera Al Shaikh, director of smart services at RTA, said RTA is showcasing the use of AI, data technologies and machine learning capabilities in cycling tracks.

“We have a camera installed as a proof of concept at Nad Al Sheba cycling track to monitor people’s speed, occupancy of cycling track and whether they are wearing helmets or not. As we go along, we will be arranging cameras across different cycling tracks in Dubai and will use all the data we are capturing. The project will be rolled out in the coming few months across the major cycling tracks,” said Al Shaikh.

She pointed out that this initiative is aimed at creating awareness among the cyclists in Dubai.

While speaking at Gitex Global, Meera Al Shaikh said that users of public transport can now pay their Nol tariffs using Huawei’s watch. People who own a Huawei watch are able to tap their watch against all the devices that accept Nol pay. More than 12,000 retail stores accept Nol card,” she said, adding that work on Google and Apple devices is underway.