Ras Al Khaimah Transport Authority wins Middle East Technology Excellence Awards 2024 

It has launched several initiatives to impact the transportation industry with technological capabilities, ensuring organisational success.

Government roads and transportation authority Ras Al Khaimah Transport Authority (RAKTA) received the prestigious Middle East Technology Excellence Awards 2024 title in the Digital - Transportation category for its innovative development of its digital transformation strategy, establishing a framework to adopt innovative technologies for enhancing operational efficiency, streamlining processes, and creating new job opportunities in the region.

This exceptional initiative comes with the regulatory body’s firm belief of the pivotal role of technology in organisational success. RAKTA has focused on technological advancements and how they can impact the transportation industry.

As such, it has devised a short- and long-term action plan for projects, starting with a focus on digital transformation of services. To start,a system based on cloud storage has been designed in collaboration with global IT services company Microsoft, introducing Microsoft 365 ERP system. 

RAKTA is the first in the country's transport departments to transition to cloud storage in its operations. Microsoft has appreciated the authority's experience, and it has been featured as a case study on Microsoft's official website. The system, which was fully completed in 2020 despite the impacts of the pandemic, has covered all operations for institutional work, including operations, human resources, finance, procurement, asset management, licences, and others. 

The agency has also developed a performance indicators dashboard through a tableau system to ensure the initial monitoring of key performance indicators. Access privileges have been granted to department managers to view the performance indicators of their respective departments.

Another milestone in its transformation roadmap is the launch of its Smart Control Centre to enhance the operational system of transportation. With this, RAKTA has introduced a smart platform for monitoring transportation activities in 2021, and has improved taxi services by adding smart metres and cameras to improve the user experience and monitor driver behaviour to ensure transportation safety.

RAKTA has successfully launched a 100% digital and electronic transformation of all its services, including licensing services and violation payment services. This strategic move aims to streamline processes, enhance efficiency, and offer a seamless digital experience to customers.

As part of this framework, it has introduced the Online Service digital platform through its website, achieving an impressive 98.4% of total transactions conducted through digital services. This shift to online platforms fosters convenience and accessibility for users.

At the same time, the regulatory body has partnered with the Careem application in a bid to offer smart booking services for taxis, enabling over 120,000 bookings and receiving an outstanding happiness index rating.

Meanwhile, RAKTA has leveraged the potential of artificial intelligence for several of its solutions to propel the organisation towards cutting-edge innovations in enhancing its services.

With this infrastructure digitalisation initiative, the agency has achieved its objectives of enhancing transport efficiency, promoting seamless connectivity, and striving to improve energy efficiency across all transportation operations.

The Middle East Technology Excellence Awards honours pioneers of technological innovation in the region, having significantly contributed to the pursuit of excellence within the industry. It celebrates companies, initiatives, and leaders that have utilised advanced technologies in improving business outcomes.

The Middle East Technology Excellence Awards is presented by Asian Business Review Magazine. To view the full list of winners, click here. If you want to join the 2025 awards programme and be acclaimed for your company's outstanding contributions in pursuit of technological innovation, please contact Danica Avila at [email protected].