Abu Dhabi’s toll gate system, Darb, was activated on January 1 – transport officials announced on Friday.
The Integrated Traffic Centre urged all residents to register in the system before the system goes live on Saturday.
Motorists can register through the Darb toll system website or the smart application.
About 200,000 users have registered in the system so far.
A Dh100 fee must be paid upon registration; Dh50 will be used as balance.
Four toll gates are set on the bridges leading to Abu Dhabi city. These are Sheikh Zayed Bridge, Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Bridge, Al Maqta Bridge and Mussaffah Bridge.
The charge for passing by a toll gate is Dh4. Vehicles are charged only from Saturday to Thursday when passing during peak hours – 7am to 9am and 5pm to 7pm.
No fees are collected on Fridays and on official holidays.
"Regular toll fees will be deducted automatically from the user's prepaid account through an integrated and advanced electronic wallet, indicating that the vehicle is identified by its number without the need to install a tag on the windshield," ITC said.
More than 8,000 vehicles are exempt from Darb toll fees, the centre said.
Those include senior, retired and low-income Emiratis. People of determination are also exempt from the fees.
But all motorists must first register with Darb, and then submit the exemption application with supporting evidence.
Exemption is limited to one vehicle per user.
The fine for entering a toll gate without registering on Darb is Dh100 for the first offence. The second time the person passes without registration, the fine is Dh200.
From the third offence onwards, cars are fined Dh400 for each pass.
A grace period of 10 days is provided after the first and second unregistered pass before the person is fined.
If a registered vehicle’s balance is insufficient, a fine of Dh50 will be applied after a grace period of five working days if the vehicle’s plates are not affiliated with the emirate of Abu Dhabi.
A fine up to Dh10,000 will apply to anyone who tampers with their vehicle's number plate to avoid paying the toll fee.
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Engine 3.6-litre V6
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Islamophobia definition
A widely accepted definition was made by the All Party Parliamentary Group on British Muslims in 2019: “Islamophobia is rooted in racism and is a type of racism that targets expressions of Muslimness or perceived Muslimness.” It further defines it as “inciting hatred or violence against Muslims”.
Email sent to Uber team from chief executive Dara Khosrowshahi
From: Dara
To: Team@
Date: March 25, 2019 at 11:45pm PT
Subj: Accelerating in the Middle East
Five years ago, Uber launched in the Middle East. It was the start of an incredible journey, with millions of riders and drivers finding new ways to move and work in a dynamic region that’s become so important to Uber. Now Pakistan is one of our fastest-growing markets in the world, women are driving with Uber across Saudi Arabia, and we chose Cairo to launch our first Uber Bus product late last year.
Today we are taking the next step in this journey—well, it’s more like a leap, and a big one: in a few minutes, we’ll announce that we’ve agreed to acquire Careem. Importantly, we intend to operate Careem independently, under the leadership of co-founder and current CEO Mudassir Sheikha. I’ve gotten to know both co-founders, Mudassir and Magnus Olsson, and what they have built is truly extraordinary. They are first-class entrepreneurs who share our platform vision and, like us, have launched a wide range of products—from digital payments to food delivery—to serve consumers.
I expect many of you will ask how we arrived at this structure, meaning allowing Careem to maintain an independent brand and operate separately. After careful consideration, we decided that this framework has the advantage of letting us build new products and try new ideas across not one, but two, strong brands, with strong operators within each. Over time, by integrating parts of our networks, we can operate more efficiently, achieve even lower wait times, expand new products like high-capacity vehicles and payments, and quicken the already remarkable pace of innovation in the region.
This acquisition is subject to regulatory approval in various countries, which we don’t expect before Q1 2020. Until then, nothing changes. And since both companies will continue to largely operate separately after the acquisition, very little will change in either teams’ day-to-day operations post-close. Today’s news is a testament to the incredible business our team has worked so hard to build.
It’s a great day for the Middle East, for the region’s thriving tech sector, for Careem, and for Uber.
Uber on,
Dara
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