The Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) announced on Tuesday that motorists will no longer have to wait 24 hours for a professional driving permit in Dubai.

"Expediting the process is part of RTA's digital transformation strategy for permits," said Sultan Al Akraf, director of driver relations at RTA's Public Transport Agency. "It will benefit taxi drivers, luxury vehicle drivers, and school bus drivers."

Permit application process: how do I apply?

- The affiliated company has to apply for a permit on the RTA website and pay the permit fee.

- The driver must install the Dubai Drive app on smart devices and complete the pre-registration within the app.

- Once the affiliated company is done with the application procedures, the driver instantly receives the digital permit through the RTA-Dubai Drive app, which is available on all types of smart devices.

Providing time and effort-saving services is the aim of the new digital permits for practicing professional passenger transport drivers (bus and taxi drivers and limousine chauffeurs) and school transport attendants. With it, they can obtain digital permits via the RTA-DUBAI DRIVE app on their smartphones and have such permits issued via smart channels," Al Akraf said.