UAE launches "Smart Transportation" System for Abu Dhabi Public Schools
The Integrated Transport Centre of the Department of Municipalities and Transport has announced the expansion of the "Salama" smart application to encompass all government schools and select nurseries in the emirate.
This extension brings the total number of educational facilities integrated into the application to 672, and it comes as a collaborative effort with the Department of Education and Knowledge and the Emirates School Education Foundation. The goal is to establish a unified and comprehensive smart system for managing school transportation.
This strategic move is designed to enhance the security and safety of students utilising school buses, with a focus on the 239,000 male and female students, constituting 49% of the total student population in the emirate. The initiative aims to elevate parental reassurance in the school transportation sector by fostering improved communication between parents and all schools in Abu Dhabi.
With features like real-time information on school trips, including trip data, start times, directions, boarding and disembarking times, as well as a reporting option for student absences, over 15,000 parents have already downloaded the Salama programme in its inaugural phase. In addition, the app provides parents with information about the driver and supervisor and allows them to communicate directly with them before the bus comes.
The Salama application empowers bus supervisors to document student boardings and disembarkations, report on the status of each school trip, and input any emergency notes during the journey. The centre's control centre oversees these activities, supporting planning, implementation, and strategic projects aimed at enhancing student security and safety and improving the quality of school transportation services in Abu Dhabi.
The outputs of the system comprise a central platform and intelligent applications that are available to a range of stakeholders, such as bus supervisors, educational institutions, parents, transportation operators, and drivers. The capacity to watch and communicate in real-time greatly increases family trust and confidence. The single platform also makes it easier to assess the qualifications of the authorities in charge of school transportation, monitor kids' punctual arrivals, and take traffic patterns into account to guarantee safe and effective transportation.
