ABU DHABI: Residents in Abu Dhabi are crying foul for being fined even after renewing their car parking tickets using the m-Mawaqif service, which allows motorists to pay for parking using their mobile phones.
Nazir Ali Usman Ali, an Indian restaurant owner, said he was fined by Mawaqif inspectors last week minutes after he renewed the parking tickets on two of his cars using his mobile phone.
“The parking ticket for my personal car and my delivery van expired at 9.25pm. As soon I got the expiry alert, I renewed it from my phone at 9.26pm for one more hour with a validity till 10.29pm. At 9.29pm, two inspectors walked up to my vehicles and slapped a Dh200 fine on each,” said Ali.
The incident happened on April 26 on Fatima Bint Mubarak Street (Najda Street) behind the Greenhouse Building.
He said though he showed the ticket renewal confirmation on his mobile phone to the inspectors, they were unwilling to listen.
Ali, who claims many of his customers had similar experiences, has lodged a complaint with the Department of Transport (DoT).
K. Gopalakrishnan, a resident of the Tourist Club area, is another motorist who was fined despite renewing the parking ticket using his mobile phone. “I was in a meeting recently and I renewed the parking from my mobile phone. When I got back to my car after half an hour, I had a Dh150 ticket on my car,” said Gopalakrishnan.
Abdullah Shaheen, another resident, said he had a similar experience last month. “I complained to the DoT and they reversed the amount. But it was a tedious process and now I make it a point to take the ticket manually from the ticketing machines,” said Shaheen.
The paid parking system is enforced from 8am to midnight, Saturday to Thursday, excluding Fridays and public holidays. Parking lots are divided into premium (white and turquoise coloured kerbs), and standard (black and turquoise coloured kerbs). The hourly rate for a standard parking lot is Dh2 and for a premium it is Dh3.
