Sandstorm aftermath sees crush at car washes
Snap poll suggests 1,300 cars lined up per hour at Dubai car washes
Dubai: Some 1,300 cars lined up per hour at Dubai car washes recently following last week’s sandstorm, a snap poll suggests.
On average, each petrol station car wash witnessed no less than 20 cars waiting for their turn, a survey by VIS Exhibitions & Conferences (VIS) said. The time it took for each car to be processed also increased, to around 45 minutes or even an hour, compared to roughly 15-30 minutes during normal times, added Taher Patrawala, Head of Sales and Marketing, VIS.
The longest lines piled up over the weekend after Thursday’s sandstorm all but blotted out daylight. Hundreds of accidents were reported by UAE police on the day.
As the skies cleared, motorists rushed to have their dusty cars washed, causing a rush at car wash stations at petrol pumps. Most petrol stations can only service one car at time because there is only one wash bay.
The majority of residents do not wash their cars themselves, instead taking them to car wash services, which are mainly found at petrol stations.
Washing cars in undesignated areas, such as parking lots of buildings, is punishable by a fine. Cars deemed too dirty by authorities can also attract a fine if the owner fails to heed a notice to clean it up.
“Commuters queued for several hours at car wash stations to get their cars cleaned,” VIS said in a statement on Wednesday.
Like any big city, Dubai motorists are no stranger to lines on the road or at car washes but the latest sandstorm seemed to have led to an exceptional demand for car washes.
VIS added that “recent findings” show UAE car sales growth touched a double digit figure — 13 per cent — in 2014. According to a Frost & Sullivan industry report cited by VIS, the UAE has at least 2.94 million cars on the road.
“There is a thriving business for leading car care and car wash owners, operators, car wash equipment manufacturers and suppliers,” VIS added.
The company is organising the Middle East Cleaning Technology Week, which will include car wash and laundry platform for the first time, in Dubai in November.
