Abu Dhabi to introduce Salik-like road tolls in the capital
Tariff will ease congestion and will go towards infrastructure spending
Experts say the introduction of road tolls in Abu Dhabi will help to ease traffic on popular roads and improve infrastructure, but will also affect those on lower incomes.
A law issued by President Sheikh Khalifa on Sunday stipulated that the capital is to introduce a tariff on certain roads, the details of which are yet to be determined by the Department of Transport.
According to Robert Hodges, the previous head of Emirates Driving Institute, a driving instruction school, tolls are a way for GCC governments to generate revenue.
“In areas outside the European Union, governments are more inclined to use tolls as a means of increasing revenue streams ... to help balance the nation’s finances, especially in the GCC,” he said.
Mr Hodges said he expected the new tolls in Abu Dhabi to start at Dh4, which the same charge as Dubai’s Salik but that eventually the price would rise.
“I would expect the toll to rise over a period of time to a higher figure, possibly to Dh10, as such tolls become understood and accepted.”
Mr Hodges said tolls tended to hit lower-income commuters harder than the wealthier sections of society who can easily afford the costs, and that they should be introduced only after public transport had been improved.
“Unfortunately, lower paid people tend to have to commute longer distances to and from work each day and tolls act as a form of direct expenditure that has an effect on their disposable capital.
“In good road planning, the creation of road taxes should come after reliable alternative transport modes have been made available to the lowerpaid workers, such as light trains, metros, trams, buses, park-and-ride sites and rideshare lanes. Otherwise road tolls are ineffective at anything other than collecting revenue.”
Thomas Edelmann, founder and managing director of Road Safety UAE, said road tolls were an effective way to combat the problems caused by congestion.
He said: “Traffic congestion is an inconvenience to road users. It incurs a cost to society and increases the chances of misbehaviour in motorists – we have a tendency to misbehave when we get cornered.”
Road tolls used to channel traffic away from overused roads to those with fewer vehicles on them to smooth the overall flow of traffic are, said Mr Edelmann, “a fair way to charge motorists for infrastructure use”.
“The more an individual drives on roads, the more they pay road tolls. The funds raised can then be used to maintain roads and finance further extension of existing road infrastructure, which results in better and safer roads.”
In the United Kingdom, the Congestion Charge is paid by motorists who enter central London during set times, which limits congestion, pollution and encourages people to use public transport.
Motorists in the Britain also pay a vehicle exercise duty, or road tax, to maintain the roads, reduce pollution and improve street lighting.
Salik, the electronic toll system used in Dubai, which was introduced in July 2007, is cashless and involves a tag that automatically charges a car when it enters a toll road.
Motorists who cross a toll, but do not pay the fee can face fines of up to Dh10,000.
A number of countries in Europe also introduced road tolls to improve their infrastructure and ease traffic congestion, including France, Germany, Italy and Spain.
Thomas Edelmann, founder of Road Safety UAE, said road tolls were an effective way to combat congestion