New toll gates at Safa Park, Maktoum bridges

Roads and Transport Authority officials confirmed motorists’ worst fears announcing Tuesday that two more Salik toll gates will soon be activated, bringing the total of toll gates to four in the city.

Two new toll gates will be set up on Al Safa Park Bridge as well as on Al Maktoum Bridge and will exact the same Dh4 toll from passing car owners as do the existing Al Barsha and Garhoud Bridge toll gates.

The only consolation offered by the RTA officials on Tuesday was that motorists who use the existing Al Barsha toll gate and then the Al Safa gate on the same journey will only be charged one Dh4 fee, rather than twice.
The new tolls will go active September 9.

“A pioneering project, Salik has proved to be highly efficient since its inception as a unique traffic solution to resolve traffic issues. It also supports RTA’s strategy to provide easy and safe transportation,” said RTA Chairman Mattar Al Tayer in a statement.

Salik was first introduced in July 2007 to protests by drivers last year despite explanations by the RTA that the new tolls would reroute traffic thereby alleviating congestion.

The RTA said that in order to avoid paying the Salik charges, motorists can take “five alternative routes” and by doing so will reduce traffic congestion along main arteries such as Shaikh Zayed Road.

Alternative roads include Business Bay, Al Shandagha Tunnel, Floating Bridge, Emirates Road as well as Dubai Bypass Road.

Al Tayer said that motorists are also encouraged in the coming months to use 112 new modern buses that will be added to the fleet to travel along five new bus lines to boost public transportation.

Motorists who were forced to buy Salik tags last year for their car windshields complained that the RTA was conducting a cash grab that hurts ordinary drivers.
The RTA, meanwhile, has declined requests by XPRESS to divulge the income derived from the tolls but simple analysis suggests the first two toll gates would be huge moneymakers for the authority.

Analysis by XPRESS revealed that the RTA stands to make a tidy sum from proposed road tolls.

At Dh4 per trip and based upon a daily average of 200,000 vehicle crossings over Al Garhoud Bridge, the RTA could earn roughly Dh800,000 in new daily revenue for a yearly draw of Dh292 million.

Combined with similar crossings from the Shaikh Zayed Road toll gate near the Mall of the Emirates, RTA could be poised to earn a total of Dh584 million every year.
For more details on Salik, visit the RTA’s website: www.salik.ae