Nol card must to access public parks
dubai — Visitors to public parks in Dubai will now have to own a Nol card to access the facilities, Khaleej Times has learned.
In collaboration with the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA), the Dubai Municipality earlier installed 70 Smart Gates in four public parks to enable residents to use their Nol cards to pay for entry.
To enter Al Mamzar Park, Za’abeel Park, Mushrif Park and Creek Park, visitors will no longer purchase paper tickets, but scan their RTA’s Nol card instead, using the same smart system used in public transport.
The Nol Silver, Gold and Blue cards, as well as the special edition cards designed by the RTA, can be used for paying park entrance fees, which will remain the same, said officials.
Those without Nol cards need to purchase a Dh25 Green Nol card from the counters that can cover a family or group of friends, or be used in public transport including bus, metro, taxi and water taxis. Cards can be recharged at the park’s counters or Nol card vending machines, to be installed on-site next year.
Mohammed Abdul Rahman Al Awadhi, director of Public Parks and Horticulture Department at the Dubai Municipality, told Khaleej Times the key is to provide a smart integrated payment system to ease queues and reduce waiting time in public parks. “People will no longer need human intervention to access parks. If they have a Nol card with enough balance, they can scan it on the smart gate and enter,” said Al Awadhi. He noted special gates to accommodate people of determination are also in place, plus they get free entry for themselves and two companions.
Smart gates — first installed in Mushrif Park back in April — also allow people to use Smart Nol, an app that allows residents to use their mobile phones to check in and out of public transport modes.
Al Awadhi added: “Using cash at counters takes time per visitor, and since parks witness a huge rush on weekends, we wanted to introduce a structured system to reduce waiting time and provide better access to people.”
Since Nol cards are widely used among public transport users, Al Awadhi said “this existing culture among the community can be used for more than one facility to make people’s lives easier”.
Meanwhile, Khaled Al Awadhi, director of the Automated Collection System at the RTA, said over 700,000 visitors used the smart gates since their installation in the four parks, over the last eight months. Over 223,000 used smart gates to access Al Mamzar Park since September, while 192,277 entered through Creek Park’s smart gates since October.
Al Awadhi said though people might take time to adjust to the new system, he urged the community to collaborate with the public entities. “As the country increasingly moves to smart methods, the different entities help offer new technologies to benefit the community,” he said. “Like anything new, it will take time for people to learn to use the technology.”
While some residents supported the new smart system, others despised
Since parks witness a huge rush on weekends, we wanted to introduce a structured system to reduce waiting time and provide better access.” Mohammed Abdul Rahman Al Awadhi, director, Public Parks and Horticulture, Dubai Municipality
having to pay a minimum of Dh25, instead of the typical Dh5, for a single entry.
Ahmed Dajani said paying Dh25 for an entry is “an extra toll especially if you already have a Nol card, but you don’t happen to be carrying it”. He recently paid Dh25, instead of Dh5, to see a friend at Zaabeel Park for an hour, after leaving his Nol card at home.
Souad Hamed said buying a Dh25 Nol card is “impractical” for someone who doesn’t normally use the metro or public transport Photos by Shihab or visit parks more often. “VAT will be added in the next few weeks, and people aren’t ready to pay extra for facilities they could previously avail for as less as Dh5,” said Hamed.
Meanwhile, Nida Khan said the new park system is “much better” since it allows people who have no cash to use their Nol cards. “It also managed to reduce queues. When I came here on Fridays, I used to wait at least 15 minutes to buy my ticket. Now I can scan my card and enter the park,” said Khan.
Shazia Ahmed said having the option of buying a paper ticket will help prevent the extra payment, for those who are not frequent public transport users. “Some people don’t have jobs, and therefore, don’t use public transport much. Therefore, having the option of paper tickets will serve certain segments,” said Ahmed. (With Inputs from Saman Haziq)
sherouk@khaleejtimes.com