More motorists report faults in road toll system

Dubai: More motorists have contacted Gulf News to report faults in the new Salik road toll system.

Some drivers have said they have received SMSs telling them they should recharge their Salik accounts when in fact there is plenty of credit left.

Messages have been sent to other car owners giving account balances that are much higher than they should be.

On Wednesday, Gulf News reported that motorists had received text messages telling them they had just Dh2 left in their Salik accounts even though they should have had several tens of dirhams of credit remaining.

There are two toll gates, one near Mall of the Emirates and the other at Al Garhoud Bridge, with motorists charged Dh4 each time they pass under them in either direction. The system, initiated by the Roads and Transport Authority, went live on July 1.

Shreekumar Nair, a finance executive, said he had topped up his Salik credit with Dh500 because he uses both gates to go from Sharjah to his office in Jebel Ali.

"On Monday, I received a message that said my Salik account balance was Dh478, but the message also added that it was insufficient and I had to add funds to my account immediately to avoid violation fines," Shreekumar told Gulf News on Wednesday.

He said he tried to check his balance on the Salik website, but it did not work. He also tried calling the hotline, but that was constantly busy.

"It is irritating to receive such messages when you have charged your Salik tag with enough credit," Shreekumar said.

Balance

Rabbia said her husband bought a Salik tag, giving him a balance of Dh50, before he travelled through the toll gates several times.

He then topped up his balance by Dh100, only to receive an SMS telling him his balance was Dh150, as though he had never passed through a toll gate.

"He is shocked, why is our account not charged? My husband is still trying to contact the helpline to ... avoid unnecessary fines," said Rabbia.

Motorist Sanjay said he received an SMS telling him to top up his account even though there was a lot of credit left in it.

"I received an SMS from the RTA stating: 'Your Salik account balance of Dh278 is below the set recharge value. Please add funds to your account immediately,'" he said.

"The amount mentioned was correct but I was wondering how Dh278 could be below the recharge value."

Driver Omkumar said he received an SMS saying his balance was Dh22 before he used Salik three times. After this, he received another SMS telling him his balance was Dh2. "I passed the gate three times, my balance should have been Dh10," he said.

Gulf News tried to contact the RTA on several occasions yesterday but was unable to get in touch with an official who could comment.

It is abundantly clear to most that Salik planning was flawed and implementation has been a disaster. The question I have is, who will be held accountable for this fiasco? My sense is nobody will.
Douglas
Dubai,UAE
Posted: July 12, 2007, 09:09

I have the same problem with Salik. I have two cars and hence, I have two tags. The combined credit for both should have been Dh100. I have used the Salik about 7 or 8 times so far. I recharged my account with Dh200 on Wednesday and I received a message stating that my balance is Dh300! I was quite surprised by this and was trying to contact Salik. But as usual, no luck. Your article has taken a load off my mind as it clearly shows that the system still has a lot of bugs in it, which needs to be corrected. Thanks to Gulf News for constantly highlighting the issues.
Swaminathan
Dubai,UAE
Posted: July 12, 2007, 08:52

I am afraid of using the toll gates though I purchased Salik tag after reading all about toll system malfunctioning in the Gulf News. I believe these issues will continue in future as well and the user will suffer.
Sattar
Abu Dhabi,UAE
Posted: July 12, 2007, 08:43

I have a company car. While driving to Dubai I went to take a salik card. Despite giving the car?s registration card they refused to give me salik card saying that I should provide the company?s trade license. Due to this I was not able to take my usual route of Sheikh Zayed Road but was forced to take Emirates Road.
Khuram
Abu Dhabi,UAE
Posted: July 12, 2007, 08:39

II purchased Salik on 9 July. The gas station said it would take 24-48 hours until I received an SMS with account number and PIN. I still haven?t received any SMS. Is this also normal?
Sady
Dubai,UAE
Posted: July 12, 2007, 08:34

Of course you were unable to get in touch with them. What do you think and expect? They will rather see the innocent people suffer and stressed out. But if someone crosses the gate without a valid tag, be sure he will get a fine. They sure have that part of the system perfected.
Lee
Dubai,UAE
Posted: July 12, 2007, 08:29