A toll will be levied on cars using Sheikh Zayed Road and Al Garhoud Road in Dubai as part of government plans to ease traffic congestion in the city. Emirates Today reported the following citing a senior official.
Vehicles will be charged Dhs4 each time they use the roads, up to a maximum Dhs24 a day. 24/ day and roughly 600/month, Wow isnt it same as an installment one would pay for a Lancer or a Yaris. Talk about old days when people used to be robbed when passing through certain areas of the country. Although they got robbed most of the times but the they still had to use the same roads as there were no alternatives. Lucky us, we don't have to worry like that. Ofcourse we have so many alternatives while living in a growing city. We have the municipality bus system, and the Light Rail and not to forget our feet to go around. But ofcourse the rail comes in 2009 and the toll starts July 2007@!@!@!
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20 comments:
And of course. If the story is accurate and it is just SZR and Garhoud to start with, the traffic on Al Wasl, Beach Road, Al Khail Road and Emirates Road won't be utterly intolerable will it?
But its ok, because the road that like the tourists and the businesspeople use will be less busy...right?
I think the powers that be have finally admitted they don't know what to do.
18 months of sitting on their backsides then a sudden rush of knee-jerk solutions.
thaaaaaaaaaank god i no longer live in Dubaiiiiiiii. ha ha enjoy ........ ooops sorry u suckers
not a good move....So is their certain timing for the toll?
Which part of Sheikh Zayed road? As far down as Media City, or just the Trade Centre-Defence Roundabout strip?
The thought of the gridlock in surrounding roads as people try and dodge the charge is appalling.
A road toll like this should be aimed at commuters. It should not be levied multiple times throughout the day. It should also be levied only at rush hour times, to encourage drivers to travel at other, quieter times of day.
And how are they going to collect the tolls? Think of the nuisance and time lost queuing up to pay the toll! Tolls on roads are never a good idea. Dubai should just introduce a sales tax already.
"The RTA is planning to issue motorists prepaid cards and electronic transponders so they can track vehicle movements and collect the toll charges."
Yippeee One more official looking card to carry! I am so so so happy! After stuffing my wallet with Credit/Debit cards, labour card, health card, insurance card, driving licence, Mulkiya, AAA card etc I thought the card bounty has finally come to an end and was sad.. but no they said you gotta have this national ID soon, I rejoiced, now my joy knows no bounds! Prepaid cards to pay toll yippeeyahoooooo!
Time to move out of Dubai ppl, I am glad I no longer live there either. Next thing coming will be the income taxes just watch.
Movie: Scarface
Artist: Paul Engemann
Song: Scarface
(--Push It To The Limit--)
Push it to the limit
Walk along the razor's edge
but don't look down, just keep your head
and you'll be finished
Open up the limit
past the point of no return
You've reached the top but still you gotta learn
how to keep it
Hit the wheel and double the stakes
throttle wide open like a bat out of hell
and you crash the gates
(--crash the gates--)
Going for the back of beyond
Nothing gonna stop you
there's nothing that strong
So close now you're nearly at the brink
so, push it
(--Ooo yeah--)
Welcome to the limit
(--The limit--)
Take it maybe one step more
The power game's still playing so
you better win it
Push it to the limit
(--The limit--)
With no one left to stand in your way
you might get careless, but you'll never be safe
while you still feel it
Welcome to the limit
(--The limit--)
Standing on the razor's edge
don't look down just keep your head
and you'll be finished
Welcome to the limit
BD
Something along the lines of this maybe ?
email me dumbass -> fox_qgpiqy@trashmail.net
err this
hmm wtf ...
"This" --> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E-ZPass
If they want to reduce cars on the roads, then the solution is good public transit. Yes, they are working on the Metro, but in the meantime I just don't understand why they don't get more public buses. They're going to need a decent bus network anyway to link to the metro, so why not get started on it?
secretdubai:
I heard it's from Mall of Emirates onwards, all the way till AD.
Thanks MD - but that makes no sense. That part of Dubai isn't gridlocked at all much (yet). I thought the whole point of the tolls was to sort out the Sharjah-Dubai gridlock, not the people who chose to live in the arse end of Jebel Ali to avoid the rush (like me).
If it's MoE to AD border it seems like it punishes businesses and people working in Jebel Ali and anyone having to go to/from AD. And that's not where the really bad traffic is anyway, is it?
And it seems like if this is going to have some significant impact all roads into Dubai have to be tolled. If it's only SZR, surely people will just take another route and cause even more problems elsewhere.
Well as all the solution for the traffic problems till date, this one too will generate a lot of revenue, its effectiveness doubtful. If it succeeds then car salesmen will be in a spot of trouble. Just pray the rail will be subsidised.
I think clearing up the congestion on SZR is one motive but another is just to get money--money to pay for all the new interchanges, bridges, the metro, etc. That stuff isn't cheap, even for a rich country like the UAE. I totally agree with T-spouse's suggestion of more buses and more bus routes. That would help more than any toll roads. I think people would give up driving to work if bus service really was cheap and convenient.
Anyone from Municipality transport reading this--I sure hope so!
For those that missed it; over the next 2 years something like 250+ new buses will be introduced by the TRA
Dubai is an urban sprawl, with a slapdash planning policy and almost no investment in public transport for years.
250 buses is a step in the right direction (although in reality it needs a lot more in a city which has allowed itself to become 30km plus from end to end), as is the Metro. However, these measures will not be in place when this toll kicks in. Unless you can provide an alternative, you shouldn't be imposing such measures.
The toll will be Shk Zayed Road from MoE to Trade Centre, and then Shk Rashid Road from Trade Centre to Garhoud - basically the route that businessmen and tourists from the airport will use.
Cynic? moi?
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