Daijiworld Media Network
Dubai, Mar 27: 'Arcab', a mobility service by a group of students from Amity University in Dubai, will soon be launched on a pilot basis for an affordable and convenient form of transportation for Dubai residents.
Bilal Shabandri, a student at Amity University is the co-founder and CEO of Arcab. According to the makers the project will see a six to nine-month-long pilot test in partnership with Dubai authorities, where nearly 10,000 university students will take part.
Shabandri says that Arcab is different from a regular carpooling service. "Our service creates 'hotspots' within Dubai, which help people travel with more convenience and affordability. Users of our app can vote on a popular destination and passengers meet in a common spot to travel there together. The transportation vehicle includes a 14-passenger van."
The project developed by Shabandri and his peer Kevin Martin under the guidance of the team at the Amity's Incubation Centre, is focused on daily commute towards work or university. "The public transport sometimes is congested and time-consuming during peak hours and the private transportation services are expensive for daily use. But in our service, we create communities where people walk to a common point, they get picked up by a premium brand and they get to their destination without any stops in between. The ride starts as low as Dh14 and we have a monthly subscription as well," he added.
"If a student wants to take classes in a university, they have to wake up really early to take the bus. And if they miss that bus, then they don't have much options except taking an expensive taxi or asking their friends," Shabandri said adding that they have a network of drivers and flexible timings. "If your classes are over in the afternoon, you can leave earlier and will not have to wait until evening. For a route to go live, we need 25 to 30 people to vote for the route. We ensure there is a demand and would encourage people to share it with their friends so it goes live. We focus on two areas, one is where there is excessive demand for transportation, such as Business Bay," he said.
The Arcab team is currently working with authorities in Dubai to test and then launch the service. The team has already received several grants and awards for their unique business idea.