News Dubai

Dubai RTA Confirms July Road Toll Date After Meeting
Sunday, Jun 24, 2007
By Stefania Bianchi

DUBAI - Dubai's Roads and Transport Authority decided in a meeting Sunday not to delay the July 1 launch of its controversial new road toll that's expected to generate 600 million U.A.E. dirhams in annual revenue ($163.4 million) to fund new projects and ease traffic.

The authority, known as the RTA, confirmed the July launch date for the system, known as Salik, which has provoked a mixed reaction from the sheikdom's residents concerned by rising living costs, in a statement emailed late Sunday.

Maitha Bin Adai, a senior RTA official, said that toll gates are "scheduled to be activated July 1", according to the statement.

Senior officials from the authority held a meeting Sunday morning to discuss whether to delay introducing the toll following petitions by opponents to the scheme and technical issues with installing Salik tags, spokespeople for the authority told Zawya Dow Jones earlier Sunday.

"The authority has received many points of view and suggestions about the new toll so it is taking these into consideration," an RTA spokeswoman, who declined to be identified, said.

No Delay

RTA Chairman Mattar Al Tayer denied in a report on the Gulf News Web site Sunday that the authority had ever considered delaying the toll scheme or holding a meeting to discuss a potential postponement in response to public feedback.

A Dubai-based car rental company told Zawya Dow Jones Sunday that the authority had informed them that the toll could be delayed to allow rental companies time to fix the Salik tags needed to pass the toll gates.

"The RTARTA told our Salik coordinator today that the toll will delayed from July 1 to give car rental companies time to fix the Salik tags on their vehicles," a corporate sales manager at the rental company, which owns a fleet of 2,000 vehicles, told Zawya Dow Jones.

"Fixing the tags will take about two weeks so we haven't got enough time to fix them before July 1. This means it could be pushed back by a week," he added.

The rental company is still waiting to receive the Salik tags after applying to the RTARTA a month ago, he said.

Hertz car rental hadn't received Salik tags to fit to its fleet of rental vehicles in Dubai when called by Zawya Dow Jones late Sunday.