Salik road toll

[shawarma]

There were reports, or rumours, that driving through the Salik road toll gates could cause cancer. These have been dismissed by the RTA, the Roads and Transport Authority Dubai, now also apparently a medical authority.

According to the RTA, the Salik tollgates only use video cameras. Which then begs the question, how are the Salik tags read? By video camera?

Report from Emirates Today 25 July 2007:

Salik doesn’t cause cancer
MUNA AHMAD ASSISTANT NEWS EDITOR

Claims that driving through the Salik tollgates in Dubai could cause cancer were yesterday dismissed as wild stories.

Passing the pay points is entirely safe, said top officials at the Roads and Transport Authority.

They were responding to fears caused by a scare-mongering e-mail that has been circulating this week.

The message says the Salik gates at Al Barsha and Al Garhoud Bridge and the electronic systems used can lead to cancer and other diseases. It claims a scanner is aimed at vehicles as they pass through, and advises motorists to reduce the number of occasions they pass the gates to the minimum, while urg ing them to pass the e-mail on to friends.

But Engineer Maitha bint Udai, CEO of RTA, said the system was 100 per cent safe.

“The toll system is not a new thing,” she said. “It is a system that has been in place for more than 10 years in many developed countries. It is a well-studied system that guarantees no harm is caused to motorists travelling under the gates. The Salik system is similar to other toll systems in the world and it is safe to pass under it.” A toll system was implemented in Norway more than 60 years ago, she said. There are similar systems in the UK, Switzerland, Australia and the US. “Before implementing Salik, we sent a delegation to the US to study the system and the cards. We met the manufacturer of these cards and studied how they worked. The Salik tag is one of the safest in the world as it does not contain batteries.

“The tags work only when motorists pass the gates and it turns off automatically. There are other tags used in developed countries that contain batteries and are active all the time,” she said.

The Salik tag was certified by the American authorities, who are strict about things that may affect public health, she said, and added the gates did not contain scanners.

“Salik gates have video cameras and these do not pose any risk to motorists.”

[sleepyjim]

Went to Dubai on my Harley last weekend and bought a salik for the bike (dont need to attach it, just buy it) and was never charged for tolls, but they say it will.....

Motorcycles can leave salik at home and camera will look at plate and deduct amout of toll from your account.........

[shawarma]

Thanks for that update Jim . I just found an old Wheels magazine with that information also...

From the 13-19 July 2007 edition (issue 122) "Staffroom":

Finally, the suspense is over. For the past two weeks, we have been bombarded with queries from puzzled bikers about Salik tags. Initially, the RTA had suggested that two-wheeler users need not buy the regular car tags.

All indications were that there would be different tags for motorcycles. However, none of the retail outlets were selling tags for bikes, even after the system became operational earlier this month. Naturally, there was some panic and confusion from us bikers.

But trying to get an official repsonse has paid off. This was the comment: "The toll system is applicable for motorcycles as well. For customers who would like to register their motorbikes, we request that they buy the regular Salik tags. They will need to fill in the application form and attach a copy of the vehicle registration. However, they don't have to affix the Salik tags if the bike doesn't have a windshield. The system will deduct the toll by identifying the number plate." Salik SMS messging and re-charging of your Salik account are also the same for bikes.

[bumba]

Aaarg help... I still have not received my account info from Mr. Salik. I had purchased my salik way in advance anticipating the mad rush for last minute salikers buying their tags... I have tried calling the salik help line and what a waste of time... think the longest i was on hold for was about 15mins before i got fed up and hung up.... so the next option was to e-mail them at CustomerService@salik.ae ... so i send the e-mail and great i get a response within 24 hours.. Wow was I amazed that they replied within such a short time... so i reply with the details they ask for.... expecting a response after sending my mail i still wait... it has been 6 days now waiting on a response.. Don’t people know its good e-mail etiquette to respond within 3 days of receiving the e-mails... 8O

so my question is does anyone have any contact details/ e-mail addresses of any of the salik big boys who I can send my e-mails to... who can take action and resolve this!!! I wonder how many other people are in the same satiation as me. and I have been using the salik tolls on almost a daily basis since the birth of salik tolls... I wonder how many fines I have... hahaha

Regards

Bumba

[shawarma]

That sounds like a common enough story. I would suggest you just keep trying to call them. Relying on emails is probably not going to be enough . Good luck...

[sleepyjim]

For further information:

Write to us on:

* Customers: customerservice@salik.ae
* Corporate: fleets@salik.ae

or

Call us on 800 Salik (72545)
Saturday - Thursday from 6 am to 10 pm
Closed on Fridays

I have had zero problems with waiting calling the 800 number, maybe its the time of day u call?

Also send an email to the corp email, bet they get fast replies.........

[bumba]

sleepyjim: must have been the time of day I was calling, have not tried again..

funnily enough after I posted here about an hour later I got a reply from Salik via e-mail asking me to fax them a copy of my application form... so to make things complicated I scanned it in and e-mailed it to them today.. (better way of keeping track of correspondence me thinks) so now let’s wait and see what happens.. will keep you all updated on what’s happening..

regards
Bumba

[shawarma]

funnily enough after I posted here about an hour later I got a reply from Salik via e-mail asking me to fax them a copy of my application form...

A curious coincidence. Maybe Salik are reading this forum .

Good to hear anyway. Smart idea to keep copies of everything...

[bumba]

Big Brother is watching!!! 8)

[shawarma]

Arab News today (a Saudi newspaper):

Dubai Denies Plans to Introduce New Road Toll

Dubai, 28 August 2007 - The Dubai Roads and Transport Authority denied yesterday that it has started work on the second phase of the road toll tax. For the first time, Dubai introduced in July a toll tax on motorists who cross Garhoud Bridge and use Sheikh Zayed Road. Motorists who use the road have to pay the 24-hour toll when they pass the electronic tollgates. A fee of AED4 is automatically deducted from the motorist's account.

Rumors have been rife in the emirates about additional gates to be added. A report yesterday from Fujairah said that the authority had started work on eight new gates in the city. They included all the major routes in the emirate including Shindagha Tunnel, Maktoum Bridge, Floating Bridge, Emirates Road, Al-Khail Road, Nad Al-Hamar Road and Business Bay crossing.

However, Salah Al-Marzouqi, from the RTA denied the news report saying that the authority has no plans for the second phase of the project.

In separate news, the RTA announced that the first phase of widening Emirates Road, extending from the borders of Sharjah to Al-Aweer Intersection, has been completed. The road will open on Friday.

Nabeel Mohammed Saleh, director of RTA, said widening works involved providing additional lanes throughout five of the existing intersections of Emirates Road in the initial stage. It will contribute to easing traffic congestion on this vital road. The estimated number of vehicles using this road is around 10,000 per hour in each direction. The project aims at reducing traffic bottlenecks at the entry and exit points on the road.

According to the plan, all works associated with the second phase of the project, extending from Al-Aweer Intersection to Arabian Ranches Intersection, are being carried out at a cost of AED333 million. The project is scheduled for completion in the second quarter of 2008.

[shawarma]

So, do you agree with the RTA? Salik is a success and the traffic jams are your fault?

HELP TRAFFIC FLOW AND WIN DH1M
ASHABA K ABDUL BASTI NEWS REPORTER

A sum of Dh1 million is up for grabs to any organisation in Dubai that uses innovative ideas to improve the traffic situation in the emirate.

The Dubai Award For Sustainable Transport (Dast) was launched yesterday by the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) and the winner of the contest will walk away with the prize money.

Any group that implements transportation practices, which prove to have a positive impact on the environment, road safety or decongestion, can compete for Dast.

“Dast will not only increase awareness but also help to achieve an integrated transport system that is safe and vital for Dubai’s sustainable development,” said Mattar Al Tayer, executive director and chairman of RTA’s board.

Dast targets public, private and non-profit organisations and encourages them to come up with creative solutions and put them into practice. In addition to the grand prize, smaller awards will also be awarded by the RTA.

For groups to compete, they should be able to prove that their transport practices significantly helped in decreasing the number of trips made by private vehicles or contributed to increasing the use of public transport. Practices that help to decrease the level of air and noise pollution, other hazardous emissions or helped to improve general safety standards are also grounds for consideration.

Applicants can begin submitting their innovations for traffic improvement next month and the prize money will be awarded after one year.

Al Tayer said the prize would be increased annually to encourage more participants in the competition to be held every year.

The RTA was encouraged to offer the prize, Al Tayer said, because traffic jams in Dubai result in economic losses estimated at Dh4.5 billion each year while costs from accidents amount to Dh400 million annually.

Al Tayer said the RTA was committed to improving public transport and reducing congestion on the roads and pointed to the new road toll system as a recent success. He claimed the Salik toll system had reduced traffic on some of the most congested roads in Dubai.

“For six years, Al Garhoud Bridge had a problem with traffic jams. The problem has been solved and motorists who use the road are now happy,” said Al Tayer.

He denied that Salik was causing congestion and accidents on smaller roads and blamed those problems on bad drivers.

“Some drivers deliberately ignore driving and traffic rules, others are just drunk, while some are illiterate and cannot read the variable road signs.This is our biggest problem in Dubai,” he said.

Al Tayer said the road authority was constantly implementing new solutions. In this regard he pointed to the launch of dedicated public bus lanes that are due to be introduced by the end of this year to reduce the waiting time of commuters.

[sleepyjim]

About 3 weeks ago I got an SMS saying I was 2AED in the hole........(I should be at 46AED to the good), anyway, called and gave my chip number to the guy and found they had wrong chip number assigned to my account so they had to fix this, I got a call 5 days ago all is fixed and they gave my account full funding of 50AED.

It would be a good idea to track the first few times you go thru a toll gata and see that your account is correct.............


sj