Dubai has officially launched two new Salik toll gates, bringing the total number of toll gates in the city to 10. The new gates are located at the Business Bay Crossing on Al Khail Road and at Al Safa South on Sheikh Zayed Road, between Al Meydan Street and Umm Al Sheif Street.
Earlier, there was already a lot of discussion on how monthly expenses for commuters would rise following this decision. The Roads and Transport Authority, RTA, expects the Business Bay Crossing gate to reduce traffic congestion by 12-15% on Al Khail Road and decrease traffic by 10-16% on Al Rabat Street. However, residents feel that traffic times are not improving, and costs are only rising.
Wrenon Lopes, who leads W19 Media and lives in Dubai, mentioned that the increase in Salik gates will also raise monthly travel costs. “It’s not that it was cheap initially, but now, if these routes are taken regularly, an extra AED8 needs to be accounted for. That adds up to AED200 more per month. That’s close to also the amount employers spend in the city for food. Moreover, there’s no evidence that traffic has eased, as travel time remains the same during peak hours.”
Reyson Gumaru, an engineer at Freedom Overland, who travels to Dubai every day, said, “I pass through massive traffic every day. First, I take the bus, then I take a cab. My travel costs have simply increased. The timelines are not seeing any changes.”
Reports suggest that the new implementation is expected to help redistribute traffic to Al Maktoum and Al Garhoud bridges, as well as Ras Al Khor Street. Meanwhile, the Al Safa South gate aims to reduce right-turn traffic from Sheikh Zayed Road to Meydan Street by 15%, while improving traffic flow on nearby streets like Financial Centre, First Al Khail, and Al Asayel.
