DUBAI // Motorists will be able to renew their driving licences at vision-testing centres and use iPhones to pay tolls and traffic fines.
The services, likely to be available next year, aim to provide commuters with more options and avoid trips to Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) customer centres. Four eye-test centres in Dubai will be shortlisted by early next year, Ahmed Bahrozyan, the RTA licensing agency chief executive, said yesterday.
"We must have certain high standards in place so we will look at the quality of the centre and the companies with the biggest coverage," he said.
Setting up vision testing centres to function as one-stop shops is in line with another recent policy change. In September, the RTA granted permission to authorised insurance companies to process vehicle registrations and renewals.
"It picks up from our service of insurance companies completing vehicle registration formalities at no extra cost," said Abdulla Ali al Madani, the RTA chief executive of corporate technical support services.
Once the driver passes the test, the eye centres will process the licence renewal with the RTA and the new card will be delivered by courier.
An iPhone "app" is being completed allowing drivers to pay road tolls through the Salik system as well as other fees.
rtalwar@thenational.ae
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UAE v Ireland
1st ODI, UAE win by 6 wickets
2nd ODI, January 12
3rd ODI, January 14
4th ODI, January 16
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NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
MATCH INFO
Day 2 at Mount Maunganui
England 353
Stokes 91, Denly 74, Southee 4-88
New Zealand 144-4
Williamson 51, S Curran 2-28
Adele: The Stories Behind The Songs
Caroline Sullivan
Carlton Books
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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'The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey'
Rating: 3/5
Directors: Ramin Bahrani, Debbie Allen, Hanelle Culpepper, Guillermo Navarro
Writers: Walter Mosley
Stars: Samuel L Jackson, Dominique Fishback, Walton Goggins
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
THE SPECS
Engine: 6.0-litre, twin-turbocharged W12
Transmission: eight-speed automatic
Power: 626bhp
Torque: 900Nm
Price: Dh1,050,000
On sale: now
