Abu Dhabi: Starting Tuesday, a fleet of 30 new vehicles will patrol roads throughout the emirate of Abu Dhabi to ensure the smooth flow of traffic and provide free roadside assistance.
The vehicles are part of the Road Service Patrol (RSP), which is managed by transport regulator, the Integrated Transport Centre (ITC).
“The patrols were first launched in 2009, and their [yellow] vehicles have become a familiar sight in Abu Dhabi, providing roadside assistance and incident site management. From Tuesday onwards, the newly branded patrols will cover the entire emirate, including main roads in Al Ain and Al Dhafra,” said Hamad Al Afifi, acting director for road traffic management at the ITC.
Increased scope of RSP services
The official told Gulf News that the increased scope of services called for an increase in the size of the fleet from 13 to 30 vehicles. The new units are white, with blue and orange markings.
Free roadside assistance
Most importantly, unlike other roadside assistance facilities, the services offered by the RSP are free.
“Our officers are trained to facilitate smooth detours in the event of a car breakdown. They help clear the site of an incident to prevent secondary accidents, manage traffic at event sites and tow away stalled cars. And, they can also help change a tyre, provide fuel when a vehicle runs out or charge a car battery,” Al Afifi said.
Once the RSP is contacted, a unit will arrive at the site within 15 minutes, resolving concerns and providing the required assistance within a clearance time of 30 minutes.
How to get in touch
While the RSP itself monitors roadside delays, deploying units wherever controllers feel incidents may occur due to congestion or road traffic accidents, motorists can also hail the patrols through the ITC’s Darb mobile application, or through its 80088888 call centre. The Abu Dhabi Police 999 hotline also helps motorists connect with the RSP.
Al Afifi clarified that the RSP’s services are different from that of Saaed, which mainly provides traffic incident reports for collisions.
“We provided more than 21,500 traffic services in 2018, and we expect this number to increase as we begin covering a bigger road network from October 2019 onwards,” he explained.
Contacting the RSP
-Motorists can call the ITC on 80088888 and request for road service patrol.
-Alternatively, you can download the Darb smartphone application from Android Google Play or iOS App Store. Select ‘Road Service Patrols’ and fill out the form. In case of an incident, enable your GPS to identify your location. The control centre will call you to confirm your needs, then send you an incident ticket number before deploying a unit.
