UAE | General

How costly are your city's services?

With the rising cost of living in Dubai leaving residents unhappy with daily expenses, but even with the proposed road toll Dubai is still cheaper than cities such as London, New York and Paris.

  • By Zoi Constantine and Emmanuelle Landais, Staff Reporters
  • Published: 00:00 December 24, 2006
  • Gulf News

  • Even with the proposed road toll Dubai is still cheaper than cities such as London, New York and Paris.
  • Image Credit: Gulf News
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Dubai: With the rising cost of living in Dubai leaving residents unhappy with daily expenses, the announcement of a road toll on one of the emirate's busiest roads has been seen by many as another 'extra' making them reach further into their pockets.

As of July 1, it will cost Dh4 to drive from Garhoud Bridge to Mall of the Emirates on Shaikh Zayed Road, according to the Road and Traffic Authority (RTA), which is imposing this new tariff as a means of curbing the traffic problem.

"The main objective of implementing the toll in this area is to ease the traffic congestion and make motorists use alternative routes," engineer Maitha Obaid Bin Udai, Chief Executive Officer of the Roads Agency at the RTA, said at the time of the announcement.

Alternative routes suggested include Al Khail Road, Emirates Road, Dubai-Outer Bypass Road, as well as Al Wasl and Jumeirah Beach Roads.

She added that no plans were currently in place to introduce tolls on other roads before the completion of the Dubai Metro and other measures to tackle the traffic issue.

However, Dubai-residents expressed concern about the added-burden placed by the extra cost.

"I do not think a toll will solve the problems except for adding a burden on the already high cost of living," Jignasha from India said. "Also there will be more traffic on other routes which are toll free."

Another Dubai resident Praveen said: "The idea is nothing other that an added burden on middle class families."

Anwar, another resident, said it will be unfair for those working near Shaikh Zayed Road as they will be forced to pay the toll on a daily basis.

"They will have no other choice," he said. "What the authorities should do is, provide extensive and effective public transport systems as in other countries, and then implement the toll systems. I think the new toll will help in increasing the already high cost of living, and will not reduce the traffic congestion on Dubai roads."

Transport costs were recently put under the spotlight by a Gulf News poll that found that 89.6 per cent of people thought metered taxi fares had become exorbitant.

Entrance to public facilities such as parks and beaches are also charged, however there are no charges for public toilets and some parking areas.

However, with the city ever-evolving and the population increasing, are these changes and additional charges simply par for the course? Additionally, with no system of direct income taxation in place in the country, some argue that fees and tolls are necessary to fund improvements in public services.

We speak to several people to take a look at major cities around the world, to see just how expensive, or not, Dubai has become.

Kay Vosloo, Cape Town

"In Cape Town, the cost of living is extremely high … I am much happier here purely because it is safe and quite affordable to get involved in many social activities and hobbies. Public transport needs improvement here although it still does not compare to South Africa. I wouldn't dare get on a train or bus there anymore purely for safety reasons. I think people forget how spoilt we are …The toll in my opinion is a good idea. We can't expect the government to pay for everything we make use of."

Regina Hackett, Melbourne

"I think it's easier to get around with public transport in Melbourne. We have buses, trams, trains and taxis. In Dubai, taxis are great but now the price is going up and traffic is getting worse. People don't walk. I've never caught the bus here. I think it is odd to pay for public parks here because it's free in Melbourne. Parking is expensive back home though.I guess for the road toll, we will just have to pay it. It's quite annoying because the roads and traffic here are a mess."

Jacqueline Khale, Mumbai

"There is no way out of the road toll. I have to travel on the Shaikh Zayed Road everyday so I will have to pay. Comparatively, I think Mumbai and Dubai are as expensive as each other overall, but the public transport in Mumbai is far superior. Also catching a bus here for 20 fils is unheard of... I don't think parking is expensive here but I don't have to pay to park outside my house like some people. In Mumbai, we have designated parking, but petrol is more expensive."

Allison Amour, Paris

"Public transport here is non-existent but I think that the cost of getting around represents a minimal amount in our budget. It doesn't really affect the cost of living. The difference between Dubai and Paris is that here we have a choice to live very cheaply or very expensively but either way we can still maintain a way of living similar to France. You can eat out more frequently here that you would in Paris. I think park fees are quite justified because they are so well maintained."

Will Caulfield , London

"Comparatively speaking London is far more expensive, especially with taxis at about five times the price. If you travel by car, you have the congestion charge and then parking is an additional Dh14 or so an hour on top of that. So, I think the Dh4 Shaikh Zayed Road toll is pocket change in comparison and to complain about it too much is pretty laughable, especially as petrol is so cheap. In Dubai, there is a lack of alternative transportation, but they are working on that and hopefully the toll will ease traffic as well."

Carol Valmy-Merchant, New York

"Dubai is not more expensive than New York. It's incredibly reasonable here. Overall, what I find here is that taxis or access to fairs like Global Village that part of living here is very reasonable. For a fair like that you would pay Dh35 in the States. To get into Manhattan you also have to pay about Dh16 one way. We have alternatives but in the summer they are constantly working on roads and fixing potholes. Here the roads are good all year round."

Have your say
Are you happy with public services in the UAE? What more would you like to see done? In what areas specifically? Tell us what you think at letter2editor@gulfnews.com or send your comments below.


Your comments


Although London and New York are much more expensive than Dubai, the inflation rate is much lower. In London, prices of accommodation do not rise as high as 15% per year compared to Dubai neither do school fees rise by 70% each year. Also, incomes rise on an annual basis in the US and UK, so people do not mind paying the extra cost. In Dubai prices are soaring to new heights with basic goods like rice seeing more than 70% inflation. Also transportation is much more improved and cheaper in London as you have trams, trains, tubes and buses to travel.
Foad
London,UK

The options of a wider water transport would benefit the city of Dubai. Right now we have only the abras, how about a service to Jebel Ali?
Zafeer
Dubai,UAE

I am happy with public services in Dubai. Of course there is room for improvement, but residents must be prepared to share the costs and pay for facilities. It will also drive good behaviour and will make sure that people will use what they need without creating waste.
Amar
Dubai,UAE

All these expenses add to the cost of living and in turn will result in higher salaries. As a result the cost of doing business will become unaffordable or expensive enough to drive business elsewhere. Overtime, jobs will become highly specialised or opportunities reduced. The question thus being - will the local population be able to cope or will unemployment and poverty increase? As for the expats, well they will just go elsewhere to where the opportunities and jobs exist.
Desmond
Dubai,UAE

Tolls should be reasonable considering that, in my understanding, there's a huge class of expats who have been struggling lately due to rental hikes. At the end of the day, one should appreciate the concerns of all citizens of society.
Khayyam
Dubai,UAE

The toll will not help anything but it will increase the traffic in roads like Al Wasal, which is already congested towards Bur Dubai all the time due to the bottle neck created by traffic coming from Jumeirah Road, Satwa and some vehicles from Shaikh Zayed Road. Besides providing a good road system where required, there is no point in introducing a toll system and to charge them on the public. There should be open roads for free-flowing traffic.
Suraj Narayan
Dubai,UAE

I have moved from Dubai to Canada. Dubai is a very well developed city now. In services and infrastructure you can compare it with other highly advanced cities like London, Paris, New York, Montreal, Ottawa etc. In fact, Dubai is cheaper than all of these cities. All other good cities are expensive BUT in other cities, labour laws are well maintained. Here in Canada a labourer can afford a car, a one room flat, television, mobile and all other such things. Here, minimum wages of labourers are high by law. Here, there is a very cheap transport system which Dubai is lacking.
Syed
Ottawa,Canada

I just went through the opinions of the people who you interviewed and I noticed one thing - all those people are either from great cities around the world, or simply get enough salaries to live happily here in Dubai. But what would people with minimum or middle salaries do? Stay at home and don't go out? I mean most of the people I know have left the country due to high living costs, even though they lived here most of their lives. So my point is, whether you have a car or not, you will spend about 99.99% of your income and nothing will be left for you, so you are blowing your mind everyday at work for nothing.
Adam
Sharjah,UAE

I have been in Dubai since 1977. Everything was far cheaper. People were very happy. I feel these toll charges will kill people financially. If a person is travelling on Shaikh Zayed Road four times in a day then he/she will think 100 times before travelling. I feel the toll should be for commercial vehicles only.
Firoz
Dubai,UAE

I really don't know how we can compare cities like New York, London or Paris with Dubai. These are the cities which developed gradually and have a fully planned infrastructure. We cannot blame the Dubai government for introducing the toll but they should do that after starting the Dubai Metro and other alternative means of transport.
Sooraj
Dubai,UAE

The comparison is invalid! New York, London, Paris, Melbourne and other international cities have more population, much bigger economies, mature markets, better standards of living, and a business history that speaks for itself. Dubai is still digging its pathway to become an international city; it is a "blossom" compared to fruitful trees!
Hasan
Dubai,UAE

I think the authorities try to make Dubai comparable to other major cities by increasing the living costs which match with that of major cities. It should be the other way round. You should show the world that this is the most modern city which offers high class facilities at affordable costs.
Dr. Unnikrishnan K
Dubai,UAE

Comparing Dubai with developed cities of global repute such as Paris, London and New York is simply absurd. Look at Dubai ? choking dust, 24-hour construction, traffic gridlock and frustrated residents who often cannot afford decent housing and schooling.
Helmut
Dubai,UAE

The statistics provided are incomplete. For a true comparison, the average earnings in different cities should also be compared as your earnings will decide how burdened you are with day to day expenses.
Abdul
Abu Dhabi,UAE

Public transport services in Dubai leave even the most optimistic resident in despair. What little that exists is expensive and inefficient - especially the taxi services. When comparing cost of living across cities, please note that the other cities on the list have efficient public transport options, good parks and public toilets.
Sridhar
Dubai,UAE

As per the charts its really nice to see how cheap Dubai is compared to other metropolitan cities.
Shoaib
Dubai,UAE

Judgment about the cost of living will vary a lot with your income, and everyone knows that people here could have the same job but paid differently for many reasons which not necessarily fair. I think such differences should be considered before applying any more fees on the public.
Al Kaabi
Al Ain,UAE

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