Abu Dhabi Department of Transport Executive Director, Maktoum Al Kaabi, has revealed the creation of new roads to enter and exit Abu Dhabi city within the next three years, adding that four categories of traffic tariffs have been exempted from the tariff system including: senior citizens and citizens Retirees, people with disabilities, and low-income people will be exempted from one car for each of them, while the Department confirmed the provision of integrated transport system in the emirate five alternative solutions, to avoid the system of traffic tariffs.

The Department of Transport in Abu Dhabi and the Integrated Transport Center, in cooperation with the Office of Councils Affairs at the Crown Prince's Court, organized yesterday evening the fifth lecture at the Mohammed Khalaf Council in Al Karama under the title: “Traffic Tariff Project in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi”.

During the lecture, officials of the Department confirmed that the integrated transport system provides alternative solutions, including the addition of 327 new buses in the city of Abu Dhabi, in conjunction with the implementation of the traffic tariff system, which will increase the capacity of the bus transport network, and will increase the bus network lines within the island, to improve Abu Dhabi Island connects with the rest of the regions and increases the use of taxis.There are currently about 6369 taxis with a occupancy rate of 45%, and the rate is expected to increase after the application of traffic tariffs, to provide adequate coverage for their use.

The rest of the solutions included: licensing means of transport within the last mile, encouraging the use of them, including electric scooters, and encouraging the service of queuing and mobility of employees and supporting companies and institutions in the processing and operation of their own transport services from the sites «queue and mobility» of the Department, in addition to licensing means of sustainable transport such as vehicle rental service The service, which began in April last year, is expected to increase vehicle participation and reduce ownership, which will contribute to the DoT's goal of promoting behavior change towards sustainable transport.

Ibrahim Al-Hamoudi, Executive Director of Transport Sector, said: “The cost of road infrastructure during the last period amounted to 32 billion dirhams, while the cost of annual maintenance of this infrastructure is one billion dirhams, which requires finding sustainable solutions to maintain it. In all cities of the world, because the expansion of roads and streets is offset by an increase in cars, and therefore the expansion of any city will not be the solution to eliminate traffic and facilitate traffic, because the downstream and the return are always to one place, so the tariff system limits movement, and pushes the person to Prioritize, what lets a For the opportunity to the owner of the urgent need, to reach them in the shortest possible time.

Al Hammoudi pointed out that the Department conducted the mobility questionnaires for 2019, in order to know the mobility patterns of the employees of the entities to and from Abu Dhabi Island, and the impact of the application of the traffic tariff system in them, and 3000 questionnaires were filled by the employees, 21% of them are ready to change their travel times, when applying the traffic tariff system, 13% are willing to use public transport buses instead of their own vehicles, and 30% are willing to use the services of “class and transportation” and mass transit for employees, if provided by the employer. It was recommended to free school buses, taxis and mass transit buses with a capacity of more than 26 passengers. In addition to the preparation The head after the application of the tariff traffic system, to clarify the effect of the application.

During his review of the project, he explained that the population growth in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi is accompanied by an increase in the number of cars, pointing out that in 2010 the population reached 1.2 million people, the number of cars reached 640 thousand vehicles, and the number rose in 2016 to 1.8 million people, while The number of vehicles is 964 thousand vehicles and rose in 2018 to 1.1 million vehicles, while traffic on the bridges leading to Abu Dhabi Island passes 44.5 thousand vehicles in the morning rush hour (7 to 8) daily.

He attributed the excess traffic on the bridges to the concentration of government agencies inside the island of Abu Dhabi, in addition to the concentration of schools outside.

Excluded vehicles

The Department of Transport and the Integrated Transport Center excluded 10 categories of vehicles from Abu Dhabi's traffic tariff system, which will take effect on January 1. Excluded vehicles include: ambulances, the armed forces, civil defense with their numbers and emblems, public buses, and vehicles. Licensed fare in the Emirate, school buses authorized by the Department, passenger buses (limited to 26 passengers and above), vehicles bearing the emblem and Abu Dhabi Police and Ministry of Interior logo, trailer vehicles and electric vehicles.

The Department added that it added to the list of exemptions four categories of fees for the traffic tariff system in Abu Dhabi when applied include: senior citizens, retired citizens, people of determination and those with limited income, pointing out that it has set monthly ceilings for the tariff system fees for individuals when applied, by AED 200 for the first car, AED 150 for the second car, AED 100 for each additional car, plus a maximum daily traffic fee of AED 16.

1.1

1 million vehicles registered in Abu Dhabi, as of last year.