New Salik gates bring misery to morning commuters

Transcript

00:00Rush hour on al-Wasl road on Tuesday morning.

00:09It's heavier than the normal congestion because of two new Salek gates that have come online.

00:14The RTA now has gates on the al-Maktoum bridge as well as near al-Safa on Sheikh Zayed road.

00:19And it's the Safa gate that brought nearby al-Wasl road to a standstill as commuters

00:24tried to avoid the extra charge.

00:26Traffic was backed up at least three kilometres just before nine o'clock, bringing misery

00:30to drivers.

00:31Just a few hundred metres away on Sheikh Zayed road, it was plain sailing.

00:36Dubai's massive multi-lane highway was free-flowing at the new toll gate.

00:40Drivers who chose to pay the new toll appear to have a hassle-free journey into work.

00:44But it's going to come as a frustration for a lot of motorists who now have the extra

00:48task of finding new routes to work to avoid the charge.

00:51The RTA decision is not a correct one.

00:54And even if you go from this side to al-Maktoum bridge after clock tower, you will pass only

00:59a two kilometre distance where you have to pay Salek.

01:03It's really bad today.

01:04I've never seen it this bad.

01:05But is there maybe an accident up ahead?

01:09I know that they say the maximum charge is 24 dirhams, right, in a day.

01:13But even that, that is too much.

01:14When you think about it, the car fills up at 50 dirhams for a full tank.

01:18You're not going to pay 24 dirhams on the toll every day.

01:21The RTA says drivers will not be charged at al-Safa, providing they also pass one of the

01:26original Salek gates within an hour.

01:28They've also said drivers can choose to take alternative routes and public buses to avoid

01:32the extra charge.

01:34But the drivers stuck on those alternative routes this morning will probably need a bit

01:38more convincing about the benefits of the new gates.

01:41Ashraf Helmy, Gulf News.