UAE | Traffic and Transport
Authority waives all Salik fines incurred during first week of toll
Toll gate not to make money but to reduce traffic congestion on Shaikh Zayed Road, says Al Tayer
- By Ashfaq Ahmed, Staff Reporter
- Published: 00:00 September 28, 2007
- Toll gate not to make money but to reduce traffic congestion on Shaikh Zayed Road, says Al Tayer.
- Image Credit: Gulf News Archive
Dubai: All Salik fines incurred during the first week of the road toll system have been waived.
"We have waived all the fines imposed on motorists who used Salik gates without Salik tags during the first week of July," said Mattar Al Tayer, Chairman and Executive Director of the Dubai Roads and Transport Authority (RTA).
He said RTA took the decision to facilitate motorists because RTA's main aim in introducing Salik is not to make money but to reduce traffic congestion on Shaikh Zayed Road.
RTA introduced the toll system with the installation of two toll gates - one near Al Garhoud Bridge and the other near Mall of the Emirates on Shaikh Zayed Road.
A motorist must pay Dh4 through an electronic tag fixed on the car each time he or she passes through the Salik gates. "Salik has worked well and we have witnessed a 20 per cent reduction in traffic on Shaikh Zayed Road," he said.
Al Tayer said the main aim of Salik is to have less congestion on Shaikh Zayed Road, which is the business hub of Dubai.
"By introducing Salik, we have reduced travel time to the airport from hotels and business hubs on the road, and have provided fast passage for emergency vehicles and ambulances," he said.
About introducing the toll system on other Dubai roads, he said there is no immediate plan.
"But we are conducting studies as part of our traffic management policies," he added. He dispelled the impression that RTA is making a great deal of money from Salik.
"It [does not generate] even the cost of one interchange that we build in Dubai," he said, but did not give any figures about revenue generated by Salik.
Alternative routes
Al Tayer said a number of Middle Eastern countries have contacted RTA to learn from its experience and to seek expertise in implementing a toll system similar to Salik in their countries.
"There are some traffic congestion problems but they are temporary and will be solved when the road network construction is complete.
"We are improving alternative routes and it will take two to three years."
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