A new technology that will allow Dubai commuters to use their palms to ride the Metro without a need to the Nol card can be expected to be rolled out by the year 2026, an official at the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) said.
“We are still testing it in our centre of excellence at RTA and it needs at least a year and a half of full assurance and full quality check,” Salah Almarzooqi, director of Automated Collection System at the authority said. “Only then we can just go to the market so it will be ready to roll out by 2026 or beyond,” he added.
During a presentation of the system at the RTA’s stand at Gitex Global technology exhibition, authorities showed how commuters could easily link their palm with a Nol card. They can then scan their palm at the smart gates at Metro stations to pass through easily. The cost of the journey will be automatically deducted from the linked Nol card.
Almarzooqi also said: “RTA is working on this project as part of their transformation to an account-based ticketing system. Using this, a passenger can pay on the Metro, the bus and any public transport just by scanning their palm. Not only this, as you might know, Nol cards are accepted in several shops, so after this concept is finalized and approved, we are going to work further on the system so that you can also pay at these shops by using your palm.”
Earlier, an official at the Federal Authority for Identity, Citizenship, Customs and Port Security (ICP) told Khaleej Times that a solution to provide faster, seamless services using the palm of the hand, which will be linked to entities in the public and private sectors, is being developed by ICP, in cooperation with the Central Bank of the UAE.
Nol cards
Almarzooqi also said that the newly-introduced Nol cards for tourists has seen a lot of interest. “The tourist card was introduced in June and we are seeing a lot of people opting to buy it. When tourists come to Dubai, they can go to the sale counter at the airport and buy this card for Dh150 which they can use for Metro, tram, buses. They can also get discounts at over 800 vendors around the UAE which are mainly focused on areas like desert safaris, hotels and other tourist attractions,” he added.
In February, RTA had also introduced a new Nol card that offered exclusive benefits for school and university students, which also served as an internationally-accepted student ID card, providing access to thousands of services and discounts worldwide.
The student Nol card gives discounts at several vendors including Emirates, booking.com, Qatar Airways, YouTube, Spotify and Noon.
