08 August, 2007

Salik

My observations since Salik's implementation are as follows:

a) More traffic on the "free exits" before the two Salik points
b) Still a gridlock on the Barsha toll gate (more compared to pre-Salik @ peak hours)
c) More traffic onto Sofouh Road leaving Media City (peak hours)
d) More traffic on the junction leading to Madinat Jumeirah (peak hours)
d) Bottle-neck (non-existent pre-Salik) onto the entrance to Business Bay Bridge (from Dubai direction)
e) Shaikh Zayed Road seems to be a little less busy at off-peak hours
f) Day-by-day, Dubai's floating bridge (peak hours) is packed, Sharjah direction
g) Last but not least, I've overheard impatient Salik-customers at petrol stations request if Salik tags were available. Station attendants responded that there is a quota on the number of tags they receive, and they are out of stock.

Just over a month into Salik, would you say it's been good for you, or not?
Posted by i*maginate at 1:57 am

20 comments:

Anonymous said...

August 8, 2007

Desperate Princess in Dubai
People & Cake Tower
Welcome to my World Avenue
Dubai, UAE

Dear i*maginate:

The RTA is pleased with your follow-up services.

As a gesture of our appreciation, we will be holding a lunch in the desert from 12 to 3 PM next Saturday where the RTA will officially honor your support to its efforts in streamlining the traffic situation in Dubai.

There will be a camel ride following lunch, & then followed by belly dancing. You're welcome to join in the chorus as well as dance the noon away until the glorious heat & humidity.

As an additional gesture of our appreciation, you may bring along a guest who supports the UAE’s growth in the construction industry.

Someday you may become a model citizen of the UAE.

Cordially,

CEO, RTA

08 August, 2007 08:19
Anonymous said...

Traffic on SZR is less most of the time. But it gets packed it seems sometimes. And what I'm really worried about is it's still vacation time. As people start coming back now we may end up back in pre-Salik like traffic but paying Salik, so what good did Salik do then. It's a bit too early for RTA to call it a success when it's only been tried in summer.

08 August, 2007 08:54
Anonymous said...

to clear Sheikh Z totally you need another toll gate in the middle. at the moment the objective (traffic free SZR) is not working very well. as you said it just moved the traffic a few meters and created more bottle necks.

08 August, 2007 10:00
Stained said...

Garhoud Bridge is the only place that has had a positive Salik affect...thats what I have noticed.

We'll have to wait till the end of august to see how Salik holds with school/colleges re opening, people coming back from holidays etc.

08 August, 2007 11:55
Seabee said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
08 August, 2007 13:02
Seabee said...

The others have said it - half the population is away so traffic is much less anyway. And the alternative roads & bridges plus the interchanges around Salik are jammed; for example Al Sufouh Road and the Barsha interchange are impossible since Salik.
It also doesn't stop drivers from using the toll section, you just have to dodge around the tollgate and get back on the toll section free of charge. I did it yesterday for example - on to SZR toll section at Mall of the Emirates interchange and drove all the way to Trade Centre roundabout for no charge.

08 August, 2007 13:06
Anonymous said...

Garhoud Bridge is really great !
I live in ajman and working in dubai the trip from my work to my house is only 30-40 min ! before that I was taking 1.5 hour (1 hour for crossing garhoud bridge only )
I don't know what will happen next month when the school start.

08 August, 2007 14:05
Anonymous said...

It is said Salik - All Clear

I'm inclined to say "Salik - All Not Clear" coz it makes me to spend 20 to 30 minutes every evening near Al Barsha Toll Gate. And I'm paying for it too.

08 August, 2007 14:23
Anonymous said...

Dear
I still dont understand why we need Salik in the midnight and holidays?. I pay 8 dhs to reach the bottleneck in airport tunnel .This is apart from Barsha bottleneck.

08 August, 2007 14:38
Anonymous said...

Come on people its common sense, by placing these 2 gates traffic won’t vanish. RTA is doing an amazing job in building roads, bridges, etc... but at the same time someone should pay for all that, trust me it’s not for free, do you think these things are being paid for by the traffic fines, or through your yearly car registration you pay?? off course NOT, this is the perfect way to generate the extra income they need to work on improving the city and its networks, and from a business point of view this is legitimate and should have been done a long time ago, you don’t pay tax for all these services so its time you contributed to the beautiful life you live.
People in London pay 8 pounds for congestion fee, and they live a taxed life, use the buses and underground and most of them don’t even own a car, so why don’t we just pay the toll fee and finish with it, it’s here to stay so as much as you people complain and frustrate about it, it won’t go, even better the fee charge or the number of gates might increase so get used to it, and to all those people that think by maneuvering around the gate they are saving money I would like to tell you that if you leave your car running for 3 minutes with no movements it’s as if driving for 1KM so you do the math’s, am sure you pay more than 4 dirham’s and cause more traffic.

08 August, 2007 14:51
Anonymous said...

I love Dubai, and I don’t mind paying toll for using these roads (and services)…… by the way, nothing is free in this world, so, you don’t have any other options anyways

08 August, 2007 15:54
David said...

It seems to me that Sheik Zayed Road has been returned to the people of Dubai rather than the Sharjah to Jebel Ali travellers.

The Wafi interchange is now usable going north at lunchtime. It is again possible to "nip" over to parts of Deira again during the day and get back to Dubai easily.

Surely SZR is not a major route for school kids who are on holiday.

08 August, 2007 19:59
secretdubai said...

I still dont understand why we need Salik in the midnight and holidays?

Because currently it is being implemented as a road tax rather than an anti-congestion incentive.

08 August, 2007 21:18
Anonymous said...

Anon@14:51: I don't have a problem with paying a toll fee if it actually makes anything better. So far Salik has cleared up SZR but made many other areas worse. And that's with a heap of folks gone over summer. In another month we may be back in pre-Salik mess paying Salik, and that I have a problem with.

08 August, 2007 21:49
Seabee said...

That's right, there are two totally different issues with a toll. One is whether the payment is justified and that's not what we're discussing here. We're discussing the second issue, which is the implementation, the effectiveness in traffic management of the system put in place. Salik is sadly lacking in the whole management department.

09 August, 2007 12:50
marwan said...

After two months, I just want my damn SMS.

09 August, 2007 14:45
ninjacamel said...

Surely SZR is not a major route for school kids who are on holiday.

Unfortunately, it is a major route for kids going to schools (and colleges)in Barsha, Jebel Ali, Sufouh, Media City area, and Deira, to mention some!

09 August, 2007 19:26
i*maginate said...

Interesting points of view. I find with traffic, the majority is what counts. You all seem to think it's summer time and therefore the results will change when more return to the country after the break. I don't think so many people are on holiday as what one might think - don't forget there are loads of tourists here that make up for the "population that's missing"

However, SZR is where the congestion might increase when it's "back to school" time.

I don't envision the "free exit" before the Barsha toll gate will decrease once the summer break ends. The bottlenecks already there might even increase, esp @ peak hours.

mar et al, I have noticed, since writing this post, that some roadworks have been going on underneath the Defence Roundabout, when passing underneath the interchange. Is this perhaps a new tollgate under contstuction?


"Anon@14:51: I don't have a problem with paying a toll fee if it actually makes anything better"

What does "better" mean, really? At the moment we see bottlenecks on the free exit before the Barsha tollgate (apparently Garhoud bridge is "salik" ;) according to those who've commented here)

Perhaps when those who return to Dubai after the summer whose kids go to school off SZR will choose to pay Salik, and SZR will become "as congested" as before, and slightly more people will block off the free exit before Barsha t-gate?

The way I look at it, SZR is where those who pay Salik, and the other roads are those who forfeit the toll. More will pay Salik, and SZR will become a little more busy than now. More will return from their holidays and will choose to forfeit Salik, thereby blocking the "free exit" routes.

All in all, we get a little less traffic on SZR and more congestion on the free exits.

Is that clear? Or better?

*anon 14:51 8 Aug, "so why don’t we just pay the toll fee and finish with it, it’s here to stay so as much as you people complain and frustrate about it"

For once, I don't see people complaining "willy-nilly" about just anything. These are all valid points, and just obersvations on how Salik impacts us all. I am interested to learn of these opinions: I can't say I share any of them, but it's interesting to learn how various road-users use the road, and why: and how Salik impacts them - or not.

Great points you make ref: "to all those people that think by maneuvering around the gate they are saving money I would like to tell you that if you leave your car running for 3 minutes with no movements it’s as if driving for 1KM so you do the math’s, am sure you pay more than 4 dirham’s and cause more traffic."

I'm personally not one to understand the maths of energy consumption, but if this were true, as I assume it is, with my basic understanding of how cars consume fuel, I understand the psychology of some: they would rather defer from "taxes/tolls" if they could, for the sake of it.

Then, my dear, Salik would not work at all, because those choosing to defer from Salik without understanding the point you made above would all choose to pay Salik, and SZR would be "congested" again ;)

Re: the observation that some haven't received their SMS confirming their registration, what is the reason for this?

marwan, did you call up the RTA? What did they say?

I have seen some petrol stations are "out of tags". I can't understand how this happens: shouldn't a salik tag be like a phonecard? It's always available?

10 August, 2007 19:52
marwan said...

imaginate:
I *have* been calling them, for two months. The application's been under "process" and the SMS should come 'next week'.

I've also been faxing, and emailing copies of all the relevant documents, with pretty much no effect.

I can't believe I'm going through this much crap to earn the privilege of *giving* them my money.

11 August, 2007 03:02
i*maginate said...

*marwan, I am sure you are not the only one. I feel sorry for those in your position.

If I had the misfortune of being in your position, I might find the time to go down to the RTA office.

If you are really that desperate, perhaps this might work.

Sorry, it's just a suggestion from experience.

11 August, 2007 03:40

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