No Abu Dhabi road toll till year-end
Authorities to test the system during the toll-free period starting tomorrow
There will be no road tolls in the capital until next year, although the toll system will become operational as planned from October 15, Abu Dhabi transport authorities announced yesterday.
From October 15, 2019 until January 1, 2020, the Integrated Transport Centre (ITC) will operate the system without collecting road tolls from motorists. The toll-free period has been announced in order for authorities to test the system, and for motorists to have an opportunity to register on the system or look for public transport options.
Exempted categories
The ITC also announced that the elderly, retired personnel, individuals with special needs and families with limited income will be exempt from the charges.
In addition, there will be a maximum monthly toll amount per vehicle per owner — Dh200 for the first vehicle, Dh150 for the second and Dh100 for additional vehicles.
The daily maximum toll per vehicle is Dh16.
Road tolls in the capital will become operational on October 15, but charges will be levied only from January 1, 2020, the Integrated Transport Centre announced yesterday.
The period from October 15 till January 1 will only be used to test the system, the regulator said in a statement.
The statement said five categories of people will be exempted from the road tolls. They include the elderly, retired personnel, people of determination
and families with limited income.
The change in date for toll collection is expected to give motorists time to register on the system, and transport authorities a chance to test its robustness of the system, the ITC said.
There will also be a monthly limit for road toll payments per vehicle. For the first vehicle registered, the maximum payment per month has been set at Dh200. The second registered vehicle can be tolled a maximum of Dh150 a month, and all other vehicles will have to pay a maximum monthly amount of Dh100. The daily maximum toll still remains Dh16 per vehicle.
Yesterday’s ITC statement reiterates that the aim of the toll gate system is not to collect charges but to prevent congestion in the capital. As transport officials announced in June, the anti-congestion system mirrors that of other cosmopolitan cities like London and Stockholm.
User accounts will be created automatically for Abu Dhabiregistered vehicles, and signup details will be sent by SMS.