(MENAFN- Khaleej Times)
Published: Tue 13 Aug 2024, 9:34 PM
Last updated: Tue 13 Aug 2024, 10:36 PM
Motorists have shared with Khaleej Times pictures of new Salik gates in Dubai. The two new toll gates – that will increase the number of Salik in Dubai from eight to 10 – are located at Business Bay Crossing on Al Khail Road, and Al Safa South on sheikh Zayed Road between Al Meydan Street and Umm Al Sheif Street.
Salik Company PJSC, Dubai's exclusive toll gate operator, mentioned in its half-year financial report released on Tuesday that the new toll gates are scheduled to be operational by end of November this year.
The photo shared with Khaleej Times on Tuesday was taken on Al Khail Road before approaching Business Bay bridge heading to Sharjah from Dubai. It shows the familiar silver board that will contain Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology which will detect the vehicle and scan the Salik sticker tag.
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Khaleej Times last week sought Salik for a comment but the company said it“cannot comment further or share more details on the new Salik gates aside from the information which were released on January 19.”
This is where one of the two new Salik gates is being constructed.
The new Salik gates were first announced early this year“aimed at optimising traffic flow and reduce congestion on key routes within Dubai.”
The Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) said back in January the locations for the new Salik gates“have been selected based on extensive traffic movement studies. Their objective is to manage traffic distribution and reduce congestion by rerouting some traffic to alternative routes with greater capacity, facilitating smoother and more efficient travel for all motorists in Dubai.”
How new Salik gates will ease traffic
RTA earlier said the two new Salik gates will reduce traffic by up to 42 per cent on key Dubai routes.
Specifically, the Salik on Business Bay Crossing will contribute to:
Rerouting traffic from Jebel Ali to Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed and Emirates Roads
Alleviating Al Khail Road's congestion by up to 15 per cent
Reducing Al Rebat Street's traffic volumes by up to 16 per cent
Reducing Financial Centre Street's traffic volumes by 5 per cent
Cutting the total travel time on Al Khail Road's congested segment between Al Rebat and Ras Al Khor Streets by 20,000 hours daily in both directions
Al Safa South Salik, meanwhile, is expected bring in:
Reduction of right-turning traffic from Sheikh Zayed Road to Al Meydan Street by 15 per cent
Reducing traffic volumes from Al Meydan and Al Safa Streets to Sheikh Zayed Road by about 42 per cent
Reducing traffic volumes on Sheikh Zayed Road between Financial Centre and Latifa Bint Hamdan Streets by 4 per cent
Optimising the use of First Al Khail Road and Al Asayel Streets by 4 per cent.
How Salik works
Currently, there are eight operational Salik gates located across Dubai. These are Al Mamzar North, Al Mamzar South, Al Garhoud Bridge, Al Maktoum Bridge, Airport Tunnel, Al Safa, Al Barsha and Jebel Ali.
Each time a vehicle passes through a Salik toll gate, the RFID scans the Salik sticker tag attached to the car's windscreen, and a toll fee of Dh4 is automatically deducted from the motorist's prepaid toll account, which can be topped up online or through recharge cards. Failure to maintain an adequate account balance or passing through Salik without a valid tag will lead to penalties.
Last year, about 593 million journeys went through Salik's toll gates. From January to June this year, 238.5 million trips passed through the eight toll gates, resulting in Dh1.1 billion half-year revenue, up by 5.6 per cent from the same period last year.
Toll gates in the capital
The road toll system is also available in Abu Dhabi, where Darb was introduced in January 2021. Like in Dubai, motorists who pass any of the main bridges leading to the capital city (Al Maqtaa Bridge, Mussafah Bridge, Sheikh Zayed Bridge and Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Bridge) are also charged Dh4 for every journey.
Motorists who pass through DARB, however, are only charged during peak hours which are 7am to 9am and 5pm to 7pm, from Monday to Saturday. No DARB charges apply during non-peak hours on weekdays and DARB toll is free whole day on Sundays and public holidays.
Salik gates in Dubai are chargeable during the holidays and 24 hours daily; except in Al Maktoum, where passing is free on Sundays and from 10pm to 6am Monday to Saturday.
(With inputs from SM Ayaz Zakir and Nasreen Abdulla)
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