DUBAI, 2 July 2007 — Dubai yesterday started applying the road toll system, Salik, in which motorists are charged for using Garhoud Bridge and Sheikh Zayed Road.
Implemented to check road jams, the toll indeed succeeded in cutting down traffic on Sheikh Zayed Road but diverted it to other areas which saw heavy traffic jams. Especially residential roads like Al-Wasl and Beach Road.
Motorists using Al-Maktoum Bridge described it as a disaster with traffic at a total standstill. People working in the Media City and other free zones also complained of heavy traffic jams on Emirates Road, which leads to the zones.
Khaled Abdul Jabar, who works in Internet City, complained that he was stuck for at least 45 minutes on Emirates Road. “The exit near the global village was at a standstill,” he said. “It was horrible. It takes me only 10 minutes to zoom past that road everyday but today it took me 45 minutes as everybody was using that road to avoid Salik.”
Zahrah Nourani, who works near Al-Wasl Hospital, said that she used the Business Bay Underpass to get to work today. “We got stuck at the end for around 25 minutes because the exit was only one lane and all the cars were trying to use that lane,” she said. “I dread the end of the holidays as that will mean horrific traffic jams.”
The implementation of the system also faced last-minute glitches as motorists who rushed to buy the special sticker tags complained that many of the outlets had run out of them. Other motorists complained that they had not received information regarding their tags activation and feared that they would be fined as a result. Motorists need to buy the 100-dirham sticker kit and stick it on their windshields. An amount of 50 dirhams is deducted as an initial cost for the account, and the other half will be considered as credit.
Motorists using Garhoud Bridge and Sheikh Zayed Road will have to pay the 24-hour toll when they pass the electronic tollgates. A fee of four dirhams will be automatically deducted from the motorists’ account every time the motorist passes through the tollgates. For example, a one-way trip from Deira to Jebel Ali will cost the motorist eight dirhams because they will drive though two tollgates, one on Garhoud and the other in Al-Barsha Gate. Coming back the same way the motorist will also pay an additional eight dirhams for using the same gates. When cars pass the area located between the tollgates (Al-Garhoud and Al-Barsha) motorists will not be charged. If the tag is not installed or it has no credit, electronic cameras will capture the car registration number on camera and be fined.
There will be two kinds of fines: The first one is for motorists who did not stick the tag on the windshield, and the fine will be 100 dirhams for the first day, 200 dirhams for the next day, and 400 dirhams for the third day. Any additional fine will stay on the limit of 400 dirhams.
The second kind type of fines is for motorists who already have the tag on the windshield but it is out of credit. They will be fined 50 dirhams for each entry, but the motorist can overrule the fine if they recharge within two working days and the 50 dirhams will be automatically transferred into credit. However, a motorist will receive the first SMS when the credit is 30 dirhams and the second one at 20 dirhams, and the third one alerts the motorist that the credit is zero.
