From Tuesday, October 15 toll gates will be operational in Abu Dhabi for the first time on a trial basis. Dubai has its own road toll system, called 'Salik'. Abu Dhabi has four toll gates as of now,a ll of which start operations on Tuesday.
However, motorists have a three-month deadline to register as the toll gates will operate on a trial basis only. No toll will charged for motorists passing through the gates, registered or not.
From October 15 to January 1, 2020, motorists will be allowed to pass for free through the gates.
The statement said five categories of people will be exempted from the road tolls. They include the elderly, retired personnel, people opf determination and families with limited income
Previously, the ITC had only specified categories of vehicles exempted from the tolls. However, the regulator has not yet announced the procedures by which motorists who fit the exemption categories can apply for the exemption.
What is the Abu Dhabi toll gate?
It is Abu Dhabi’s electronic toll system offered by the Department of Transport. The Abu Dhabi toll gate’s aim is to achieve a free flow traffic operation with no toll booths, no toll collectors, and no impact to traffic flow.
How much does crossing the Abu Dhabi Toll gate cost?
Each time your vehicle passes through a tolling point, an amount of Dh4 will be deducted from your prepaid toll account during peak hours and an amount of Dh2 during non-peak hours.
There will also be a monthly limit for road toll payments per vehicle. For the first vehicle registered, the maximum payment per month has been set at Dh200. The second registered vehicle can be tolled a maximum of Dh150 a month, and all other vehicles will have to pay a maximum monthly amount of Dh100.
The daily maximum still remains Dh16 per vehicle.
Location of toll gates
There are four toll gates:
- Sheikh Zayed Bridge
- Sheikh Khalifa Bridge
- Mussafah Bridge
- Al Maqta'a Bridge
The location of the fourth toll gate was moved from Mussaffah Bridge to further down Al Khaleej Al Arabi Street.
Sunday’s ITC statement reiterates that the aim of the toll gate system is not to collect charged but to prevent congestion in the capital.
Do I need to register?
User accounts will be created automatically for Abu Dhabi-registered vehicles, and sign-up details will be sent by SMS to motorists.
When payment becomes effective, they will have to create a user account by navigating to itps.itc.gov.ae, or by clicking on the Abu Dhabi Toll Gate System link on the left dashboard of dot.gov.abudhabi.
For vehicles registered outside Abu Dhabi, owners must create an account by navigating to the dedicated website, and provide Emirates ID details, license plate details, email and mobile number. They then have to make the payment to register the vehicle.
The minimum payment is Dh100 per vehicle, but Dh50 will be credited back to the user account after registration is completed. Then, they can top up the account and the toll will be deducted automatically every time they pass a tolling point in the New Year.
Account holders will automatically receive an SMS message stating their user-name and password for that account, so that they can add any additional vehicles to the registered account as required.
Vehicle exemptions
The law exempts ambulances, armed forces and civil defence vehicles, public buses, motorcycles, licensed taxis, authorised schoolbuses, passenger buses carrying at least 26 passengers, police and Ministry of Interior vehicles, electric vehicles and trailers from the tolls.
Fines
This is based on the first announcement of the toll system and is only applicable in 2020.
- Non-registered vehicles passing through the toll gate will be fined after the grace period - first ten working days after passing through the gate. Fines will be Dh100 for the first day (after grace period), Dh200 for the second day, Dh400 for the third day and so on up to a maximum of Dh10,000.
- Vehicles registered outside Abu Dhabi without sufficient acount balance will be fined Dh50 per day after the grace period of ten business days.
- Tampering with vehicle license plates to avoid paying the toll will result in a fine of Dh10,000.
- Causing damage to any e-payment machines or the toll gates will result in a fine of Dh10,000.
