Business & Money | Wednesday 2 December, 2015 1:59 am |

Gulf Traffic, one of the region’s leading exhibitions dedicated to the transport industry, will be the platform for Uber’s General Manager for the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Chris Free, to discuss how digital innovation can bring improvements in both transportation efficiency and congestion – something the United Arab Emirates is constantly suffering from. 

Uber recently celebrated two years in the UAE, with Dubai being its regional launch pad, and has since grown to extend its presence to Abu Dhabi, Amman, Bahrain, Beirut, Casablanca, Dammam, Doha, Jeddah, Riyadh and the Eastern Province in the Middle East and North Africa, demonstrating its commitment to the region, as well as its growing popularity.

“The transportation sector, not just globally but increasingly regionally, stands on the brink of great change- with digital innovation bringing about improvements in both transportation efficiency and congestion. And as the proportion of the global population living in urban areas continues to rise faster than road capacity, these innovations will be crucial to the future of our cities, in particular helping to ease the pressure that an influx of tourists can have on these systems.” said Free. 

Chris Free is part of a lineup of speakers taking over day two of the conference, which takes place on 8 December at the Dubai World Trade Centre, to talk about the regional trends and opportunities within Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS) and Smart Cities. A small number of the topics that will be discussed in length during the conference include Planning and Implementing Advanced Technology in Developing Cities, Smart Traffic Safety and Vehicle 2 Vehicle/In-Vehicle Traffic Management and its existing trials and opportunities in the Middle East region. 

“In Dubai for instance, 50 per cent of Uber users are visitors from abroad. There a number of factors in play here: the commonality of the service globally, as well as its dependability, safety and simplicity.  Ultimately however, what this tells us is that on-demand services like Uber are increasingly becoming the norm, and are rapidly becoming a recognized part of urban transportation infrastructure.” added Free. 

Gulf Traffic 2015 is shaping up to be one of the largest ever, with 95 per cent of floor space sold out just under a month away from opening its doors to the public. One more growth area the show is witnessing is its number of free to attend conferences, which has increased from three to five. 

Running over the three days, industry leaders from across the globe will be discussing game changing projects, plans and future technologies in transport and traffic. Conference topics for this year include; Road Traffic Sustainability and Safety, ITS and Smart Cities, Smart Parking and Planning, Bridges, Tunnels and Structure Projects and Road, Highways, Design and Construction, and ways to keep the roads safe, some of the biggest visible trends at the moment in the GCC.