Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) has extended its contract with TransCore to provide customer service operations and maintenance services on the award-winning Salik Toll System through to the end of 2021.
TransCore began its long-standing partnership with the RTA in 2006, when the Authority selected the Tennessee-based company to design, build, install, and maintain a groundbreaking open road tolling (ORT) system to better manage the area’s traffic. Once completed, the Salik Toll System became the world’s widest, free-flowing tolling zone, spanning seven ORT lanes in either direction.
As part of the project, TransCore also developed a back-office software system, offering customer service account management, revenue collection, and violation processing. Today, the Salik Toll System processes over 500 million transactions each year, and has won numerous customer service awards, including the 2015 Hamdan bin Mohammed Award for Smart Government in the category of ‘Best Service Center’.
In 2012, RTA again selected TransCore to expand the Salik Toll System to include additional electronic tolling locations, new toll gates, and several feature enhancements. In 2014, the International Bridge, Tunnel and Turnpike Association (IBTTA) awarded the RTA its Toll Excellence Award in Technology for this expansion. To ensure reliable operation in Dubai’s desert climate, TransCore deployed above ground equipment using an innovative gantry design to reduce the effects of direct sunlight and protect against adverse wind conditions, with resulting sand and dust clouds. Real-time image processing that could accommodate seven lanes of traffic was located at the roadside to more effectively capture images of all vehicles traveling up to and in excess of 140km/h (87mph).
Reliability during power or network failures was ensured by developing a sophisticated system of dual zone controllers and A/C units, redundant networks, and fault detection and alarm notifications. As a result of the system expansion, the Salik Toll System can now process more than three million transactions each day, and traffic volumes have reduced up to 22% during peak travel times, which have achieved the project’s original goals.
Under the new contract extension, TransCore will also provide system upgrades and enhancements, including software updates, servers, increased network and storage capacity, and new roadside equipment. In step with the RTA’s Smart Government and Customer Happiness initiatives, TransCore has recently developed a new customer application to increase the level of self-service capabilities, created an online toll-tag sales portal, and upgraded the Salik website.
“The Roads and Transport Authority has made an inspiring commitment to pursue transportation innovations that directly impact the quality of life for motorists throughout Dubai,” said Karim Rizkallah, managing director of TransCore Middle East. “We commend the RTA on these initiatives, and are proud to provide continued enhancements to the Salik Toll System.”
