Abu Dhabi: The Abu Dhabi Department of Transport will soon roll out an integrated field study to determine the requirements and implementation of a traffic toll system, the department announced in a statement sent on Tuesday.
It will then send its recommendations regarding toll charges, locations and technical requirements of the system to the Abu Dhabi Executive Council for approval.
Khalifa Al Mazroui, undersecretary at the department, said that the traffic tolls would help reduce congestion on the roads while helping to sustainably develop an advanced transport network in the capital.
Law No. 17 of 2017 was issued last December by President His Highness Shaikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan to implement traffic tolls in the capital. According to the law, the Department of Transport, which regulates transportation in the emirate, will be in charge of implementing the tolls in collaboration with other entities.
Vehicle owners will have to eventually subscribe to the toll system before passing through the tolls, and abide by all other applicable regulations. Transport authorities will also refer all monitored violations to the competent authority to take the necessary measures against offenders.
The law has exempted ambulances, public buses, motorcycles and vehicles of the Armed Forces and Civil Defence from the upcoming tolls. However, other drivers who cross a toll gate without paying can face fines up to Dh10,000, and it will be illegal to conceal a vehicle’s number plate or undertake other measures to avoid paying the toll.
So far, only Dubai has imposed a system of traffic tolls on motorists.
