The road ahead

Claims that Salik would be introduced on every major road in Dubai first began to circulate in the fortnight after the road toll gates on Sheikh Zayed Road and Garhoud Bridge began operating. Several Dubai-based websites suggested the RTA was so delighted with the amount of cash being made from Salik, that it wanted to hugely increase the number of toll gates in the city. This week Time Out received an email, which looked like an official RTA document, claiming Salik was about to be brought in to move traffic away from Beach Road. ‘The RTA has approved a recommendation for Salik along the coast road through Jumeirah,' the letter said. ‘This will be completed in 2008, and other possible locations will be investigated.'

According to the RTA, this document is a fake and they have no concrete proposals to expand Salik. ‘We can state that at this time there will just be the exisiting road toll points in Dubai,' says a spokesman for Salik. But Time Out can reveal that discussions have taken place behind the scenes at the RTA in regards to putting more Salik tolls on busy routes across the city. ‘We are very happy with Salik and feel that people who criticised it before it was launched have been proved wrong,' an RTA source told Time Out. ‘There are no definite plans to put them on Beach Road or anywhere else - but it is being spoken about. But those in charge are stressing that it cannot be about making money, and can only be brought in to move heavy traffic away from some parts of Dubai. We have heard some people think Salik is going to be used on Al Khail Road and Emirates Road. That is definitely not the case, as we want people to use these routes.'

The RTA recognises that the only way people will accept more Salik routes is if they are provided with an alternative way of getting around Dubai, and at the moment the public transport network is neither comprehensive or appealing enough to entice the majority of the public to leave their cars at home. Chairman of the RTA, Mattar Mohammed Al Tayer, has made it clear that getting the Metro ready on time is one of the authority's top priorities. The RTA has told Time Outthat plans are on schedule to have the first phase - the main route along Sheikh Zayed Road - ready by 2009, with the second phase ready the following year. One of the main concerns about meeting these deadlines is not the construction of the Metro itself, but making sure the network can operate safely. That is why the Director of Dubai Civil Defence, Brigadier Rashid Thani Al Matroushi, has been drafted onto the Metro committee. ‘The Metro has to, and will have, the best international safety standards,' he says. But even the opening of the Metro alone will not be enough to justify increasing the amount of Salik tolls. In the coming 18 months, the number of buses is going to be trebled, air conditioned bus shelters will be introduced, and more air-conditioned abras will be taking passengers across the Creek. However, whether all parts of Dubai's society will actually use them is another matter. ‘A lot of time and money is being spent on trying to get people to use public transport,' adds the RTA source. ‘It is recognised that people with cars will not want to get on a bus that is packed with people and very hot. It is all about changing the perception of public transport in Dubai, and only time will tell if that can happen.'

In the days following the introduction of Salik, the flow of traffic on roads in Dubai was utter chaos. Parts of Al Barsha and Deira were gridlocked day and night, and the amount of minor crashes increased sharply. But since then things have calmed down, and this week Time Out drove across the Creek using every road route available and found that, even during peak times, traffic was flowing far more smoothly than in pre-Salik days. Trips over Garhoud Bridge are much faster, and now that all the lanes on Business Bay Bridge are open, a journey across the Creek usually takes no longer than 10 minutes. But not everything has gone as smoothly as the RTA had hoped. The system of charging drivers for going through toll gates is suffering problems. Motorists say they are being fined for no reason, many are finding it difficult to top up their Salik account and there are concerns some are not being charged at all. ‘I was fined Dhs200 for not having a Salik tag on my car,' says Joshua Lyndon, a construction manager. ‘When I tried to argue my case that I had a tag, I was told it had not been scanned and that at the moment there was no appeal process. I understand there will be problems with the technology in the early stages, but you should at least be able to appeal.'

All the signs are that it's a case of when - and not if - more Salik tolls are created. Once the Metro is up and running, along with other public transport to complement it, then the RTA will argue people can no longer say they need to go everywhere by car.

It looks increasingly likely that in a few years Dubai will adopt a similar policy to London and have a congestion charge for motorists wanting to go into the busiest parts of the city. But the one major sticking point is that although the current Salik system is being hailed a huge success, it is a fact the amount of traffic on Dubai's roads drops in the summer. Once everyone has returned from annual holidays, and along with the thousands of new arrivals that flood into the country every month, it really will be crunch time on whether road tolls are the answer to Dubai's traffic problems.

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