RTA to launch smart monitoring system for delivery motorcycles, optional until mid-2027

Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) said on Monday, November 2, it will launch the first integrated smart monitoring system for delivery motorcycles, optional until the end of the first half of 2027, then mandatory.

The system covers a digital platform, IoT-enabled monitoring devices and cameras fitted to delivery motorcycles, according to the RTA. A launch date was not given.

It will gather and analyse data on speed, sudden acceleration, harsh braking, driving patterns, location and route.

Saeed Al Ramsi, Director of Licensing Activities Monitoring at RTA, said the system lets operational performance be tracked and unsafe practices detected “with greater accuracy and efficiency”.

Delivery companies are the ones affected. Installing the devices and connecting to the platform is optional from launch until the end of the first half of 2027, which the RTA said gives companies time to complete technical and operational readiness.

Implementation becomes mandatory once that transitional period ends. During the period, the RTA said it will step up coordination with delivery companies and relevant entities to support readiness.

The RTA said the platform will give companies operational indicators to upgrade fleet management, analyse driving patterns and guide training and awareness programmes.

Al Ramsi said this would let companies monitor fleets and riders in real time and take early corrective measures.

The system was developed with Dubai Police General Command and relevant entities. The RTA also said it will build an integrated operational database to help shape oversight policies and improve field monitoring.

The authority said the growing demand for deliveries and the rising number of motorcycles on the emirate’s streets are behind its efforts to tighten governance of the sector. Penalties for companies that miss the mandatory deadline were not stated.

The launch follows other measures for the sector. On Monday, December 15, 2025, the RTA approved an additional front plate for motorcycles and e-bikes used in corporate delivery, which previously carried only a rear plate.

That requirement took effect at the end of December 2025 and is being applied gradually on licence renewal. The plates have a gold background with black lettering and the code 9, under a new unified number. It does not apply to non-commercial, individual motorcycles.

The RTA, with Dubai Police General HQ, has also barred delivery riders from the two left-most lanes on roads with five lanes or more.

The same decision bars them from the left-most lane on roads with three or four lanes. On roads with two lanes or fewer, all lanes may be used.

The RTA’s technical manual for delivery through electronic platforms and smart applications sets other conditions. Drivers must be aged 21 to 55 and must not exceed 100 km/h.

Motorbikes must have an engine of 100 to 200 CC and be no more than four years from their manufacturing date. The manual also tells establishments to link their systems to the authority’s, including the installation of tracking devices.

The manual separately lists a penalty of AED 800 and four traffic points for using a mobile phone while riding.