Drivers will now be able to make use of the new Abu Dhabi Toll Gate System without having to pay fees from 15th October to the beginning of 2020.
The announcement was made by Abu Dhabi’s Integrated Transport Centre and the Department of Transport.
The trial period will enable motorists to have more time to plan out the travel times that would be most suited to them, or to come up with alternative transport.
The Department of Transport has also announced that low-income earners, people of determination, retirees and senior citizens will be exempted from having to pay the tariff, depending on their eligibility.
Ambulances, public transport buses, 26-seaters, police vehicles and school buses have already been exempted from having to pay the tariff.
Electric vehicles will also be exempt for two years from the beginning of the start date of the new system.
The Integrated Transport Centre and the Department of Transport have also announced that motorists who own private vehicles will have the advantage of getting monthly caps once the toll gates have been activated.
The monthly caps will be AED200 for their first vehicle, AED150 for a second, and AED100 for any further vehicles.
Daily charges are to be capped at no more than AED16 per vehicle.
The fees of the Abu Dhabi Toll Gate are lower than any comparable system anywhere else in the world.
This is particularly noteworthy since the International Competitiveness Report released by the World
Economic Forum judged that the roads in the United Arab Emirates are the best on a worldwide scope.
The system is one of the strategic land transport projects being implemented by the government of Abu Dhabi.
The projects are intended to preserve the environment and make it ‘greener’ by cutting down on carbon emissions and road congestion.
The projects are also intended to enhance the public transport sector and encourage regular commuters to use other transportation methods.
The Department of Transport has also introduced a new carpooling system and increased the number of bus routes.
The move to waive the fees for the toll gates until the start of 2020 has been welcomed by UAE motorists.
The charges were initially intended to be introduced from this Tuesday, but transport authorities ultimately decided to delay the move.
Commuters who have vehicles registered outside the emirate have been told to complete their registration online.
Unregistered motorists have been given a grace period of 10 days.
Residents of Abu Dhabi have already been placed in a registration database without having to sign up online but have not yet received messages from the police explaining how to go about paying the toll fee.
A number of residents have complained that they will unable to finish the registration process due to an issue with the text message verification system.
Anyone driving a motor vehicle in the UAE is legally obliged to have car insurance coverage in order to ensure that they are financially protected from the risk of accident or theft.