All you need to know about Abu Dhabi’s
The three-week parking amnesty on Abu Dhabi island is over, meaning motorists now have to hold a residence permit or pay to park anywhere in the city.
If you are new to paying for your parking, here is all you need to know about the Mawaqif system.
Q How do people pay to park on the street?
A There are several options. The first is by using the machines on the street. That can either be done with coins or a prepaid card, which can be bought at a Mawaqif customer service centre or at the Department of Transport.
You can buy either a Dh50 or Dh100 card that can be recharged online. Business owners can buy more than five cards at a time by presenting a letter of request to the Department of Transport.
Drivers can also register to pay to park using their mobile phone by sending an text message to 3009. You need to register first online through the website, by the call centre or over the phone, the department said.
For the above options, standard parking costs Dh2 an hour, while parking in premium areas costs Dh3 an hour. Motorists can also obtain a resident’s parking permit.
How easy is it to obtain a residential parking permit?
Very easy, according to people who have done it.
Mohit Goel, 35, from India, successfully applied for a Mawaqif resident’s parking permit for Muroor Road. His parking was free before.
“If you have a residential contract for your house, a Tawtheeq, then it is very easy. There is no problem,” Mr Goel said.
Residents must also provide a copy of their passport and visa, Emirates ID, registration card for the vehicle and an electricity and water bill for the past three months.
Mr Goel took a permit for six months costing Dh400.
“They give you a permit after maybe 10 or 15 minutes right then and there,” he said.
The permit only covers him for his area. He has to pay per hour like everyone else in other areas.
How much does it cost?
Emiratis receive four free permits if they live in an apartment and an unlimited number of permits if they live in a villa. Expats pay Dh800 for a year for the first vehicle and Dh1,200 for a second. Permits can also be issued for six-month intervals, for Dh400 for the first and Dh600 for the second.
How have people been affected by this?
Some not at all, as Mawaqif was already up and running in the area in which they live or work. Others a lot, because they have had to pay for parking for the first time. Some
people have moved house to avoid paying the charges.
Mohammed Hassan, whose family is from Pakistan, has lived in the city all his life but recently moved to Gate City to not have to pay for parking.
“I was living in Al Mushrif near the Royal Stables and I had been living there for five years,” said Mr Hassan, 26.
He could not apply for a Mawaqif permit because he did not have a Tawtheeq certificate for his apartment. That meant he would have had to pay about Dh360 a month for each of the household’s two cars, at the maximum charge of Dh15 a day.
He was a little hesitant to move but is enjoying life in his new two-bedroom apartment so far.
“It has shaded parking. It’s very nice. And Mawaqif won’t come here any time soon, I hope.”
Mr Hassan now leaves 15 minutes earlier for work each morning, but considers it worth it to save money on his parking.
Is everywhere covered by the new law?
The new law will also apply to large plots of derelict government land or sand lots where many people also still park their cars for free. So yes, pretty much everywhere will be covered.
Now that the amnesty on Abu Dhabi is over, drivers must understand the law applies everywhere