Free parking till 2am for visitors of residential villas in Abu Dhabi

Abu Dhabi: Motorists in Abu Dhabi can now park their vehicles free of charge near residential villas until 2am when visiting the villa occupants, the emirate’s public transport regulator announced today.

If a vehicle is parked near a villa after 2am, the villa owner must send a specific text message for the visitor’s vehicle to extend the parking permit, the Integrated Transport Centre (ITC) has said.

ITC, the public transport wing of the emirate’s municipal sector regulator, the Department of Municipalities and Transport (DMT), issued a total of 871,132 parking permits for visitors to the emirate’s residential villas in 2021.

System amendment

In a bid to further ease the villa parking system, ITC has also modified its systems allowing Emiratis to add new phone numbers to the Mawaqif system to include villa residents. Residents can then use these numbers to send an SMS and issue daily permits for visitor vehicles, thereby enabling everyone to obtain daily visitor permits after 2am. The villa owner or tenant can add their phone numbers to the Mawaqif system by contacting the DMT Service Support Centre on the toll-free number 800850, or by sending a text message to the number 3009 in a specific format.

As long as vehicles are parked correctly, there are no charges imposed on visitor vehicles before 2am.

Permit types

Villa residents can obtain two types of visitors permits for vehicles. The Events Permit can be requested by communicating with the call centre using the system-registered phone number while keeping in mind the ITC predetermined period for submission. On the other hand, Visitor Permits will be issued via SMS for a maximum duration of six hours.

The ITC provides this service free of charge to Emiratis who own or rent a villa, while expat visitors’ parking permit fees are calculated according to the system tariff for standard parking, which is Dh2 per hour. A fee is charged for each text message sent according to the service provider’s tariffs. The same terms and conditions apply to villa visitors’ permits under the Mawaqif system, including Fridays and public holidays.

Calling for action

If villa parking spaces are used by unknown vehicles or in a way that leads to obstructing traffic and pedestrians or closing the entrances and exits of the villas, then residents need to contact DMT for necessary measures.

ITC explained that the parking management system in villa areas has had many positive effects on traffic as well as the community and the environmental sectors. The system ensured residents and visitors used available parking spaces judiciously, eliminated haphazard parking and parking in non-designated areas, and helped reduced traffic congestion.