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Dubai: The decision to impose road tolls has not been taken, said a senior official at the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA).
"Reports about the road tolls in Dubai are baseless as there are no immediate plans to impose tolls either on internal roads in Dubai or highways connecting other emirates," Maitha Mohammad Bin Udai, Chief Executive Officer of the Traffic and Roads Agency at the RTA, said in a statement issued yesterday.
She denied reports that the RTA is preparing to implement a decision to enforce tolls on 71 roads in Dubai in 2007 and the toll fee will be Dh3. "It is baseless," she said.
She said the issue of road tolls is raised every year after the summer vacation is over as the roads get congested with the opening of schools.
"We also clarified earlier that there will be no surprises and road tolls will not be implemented without comprehensive studies to gauge whether it is really needed to solve the traffic issue. This issue not only concerns Dubai but also affects motorists commuting from other emirates," she said.
She said road tolls already exist in many cities around the world and Dubai would not be the first even if it enforces it in the future.
Maitha said the RTA is carrying out a number of big roads and transport projects to ease traffic congestion in the city and cope with future needs.
In an earlier interview with Gulf News, Mattar Al Tayer, Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of the RTA, said that no decision has been taken to implement the road toll system in Dubai. "It is still just an idea," said the RTA chief.
He, however, said the RTA is working on drafting legislation to introduce some new systems to ease traffic. The authority, he added, will complete its new road projects and then seek legislation for the systems.
"Under the legislation, which will be an important part of the traffic solution, we are studying the options. Some of these options are the introduction of a toll system, a dedicated bus lane and car sharing.
He reiterated the toll system was just one of the options and was not finalised yet.
But he made it clear that no new system would be implemented unless the authority was convinced it would be beneficial for the public and actually help motorists. "We will not do it for the sake of collecting money," he said.
Your comments
It is justifiable to plan for road pricing system once it is not feasible technically and/or financially to expand roads and rails. At the same time, the quality of transportion, that is bus, taxi and rail, must be there for the public to decide on the opportunity cost. There are cost implications when road pricing system is implemented. The knock-on effect from cost increase will affect the general economy.
Clemence
Sembawang,Singapore
A toll system would encourage many to start car pooling. This would not only decrease traffic jams, but also help maintain a clean environment and reduce the strain on resources like petrol.
Ruben
Dubai,UAE
We don't expect any tolls until the Metro project is finished. How can we pay a toll while there are not enough public transprort routes.
Mohamad
Dubai,UAE
Installing tolls is a way to reduce the number of cars on the roads. People can take alternate roads or public transportation. Tolls in Dubai will not help, in the contrary will double the amount of time we spent on the roads because there is no proper public transport nor alternate routes, which means the number of cars will remain the same, and now there will be another bottle neck: toll booths.
Sinan
Dubai,UAE
Rather than implementing a toll, it would be better to educate people on car pooling and also give a separate lane for school buses and other private buses carrying more than 20 people. The people are already feeling that the parking meters are expensive and apart from that, any more money collected from them would only lead to frustration. Tolls can be implemented on highways but not in-between Dubai and Sharjah or Sharjah and Ajman as there are people traveling on a daily basis.
Karthik
Dubai,UAE
The road toll is not a very attractive idea for most of the people who are already suffering from the high living cost in Dubai. The problem of traffic may not exist after Dubai metro and a couple of new roads and bridges are opened but still it would be appreciated if Dubai police can come up with more aggressive plans and strategies to improve traffic flow by regulating it in the morning.
Atif
Dubai,UAE
Without having proper General Transport System like monorails, subways, buses and taxis, any argument for imposing tolls would be baseless as people would still be dependent on their own private transport. Toll tax would put further financial burden without solving existing over-populated and poor road network of the emirates.
Shahzad
Dubai,UAE
I think they need to get more policemen out in to the roads to control the traffic flow, as I believe a lot of the traffic connections are caused by the drivers themselves.
Marya
Dubai,UAE
Imposing road tolls is not going to ease the traffic problem, until there are some alternate means of transport, locally as well as from other emirates. Currently the road system is not capable to handle flow of the traffic.
Raja
Dubai,UAE
A road toll system will definitely help in reducing traffic congestion on the roads. In fact I was expecting this to be enforced in the beginning of this year itself as was announced. It seems to be the only solution for curbing unwanted vehicles on the road in the current scenario. But Dh3 seems to not be a lot, it should somewhere Dhs 5 to 10 minimum. This way people who geniunely need to drive can be compensated by their employing companies. Since it will take some more time for the completion of all the new road expansion projects and also for setting up of a strong public transport network, the RTA and Dubai Police should allow using any means of commuting like no restrictions on inter-emirates taxis taking passengers instead of returning empty, car-pooling, car-lifts, sharing taxis, private bus services, etc.
Rizwan
Dubai,UAE
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