From 2nd January, motorists have started to incur road tolls in Abu Dhabi. The Darb system registered more than 100,000 vehicles before it went live on 2nd January. This article covers everything you need to know about the toll system from the information given by the Emirate’s public transport regulator, Transport’s Integrated Center and the Department of Municipalities.
Number and locations of toll gates
The capital reserves four toll gates in total. Each toll gate is situated along the four bridges which serves as a connection between the Abu Dhabi island and mainland.
These bridges are named as Mussaffah, Al Maqtaa, Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed and Sheikh Zayed.
The cost of passing under the toll gate
The toll will be taken if a motorist goes under any of the four active gates between 7am and 9am in the morning. It will also be collected from 5pm to 7pm between Saturday to Thursday.
These time zones are selected as they are the peak hours. The toll amount will be Dh4.
The maximum daily toll per day
Each vehicle can be charged a maximum of Dh16 toll. Moreover, if an user account has the first vehicle, the monthly toll will be maximum of Dh200.
For the second vehicle, the maximum toll will be Dh150 and any additional vehicles will be charged Dh100. The sequence of vehicles can be rearranged at the Darb Toll payment website.
As for the corporate owned vehicles, no monthly or daily cap is set.
How to pay the toll
The following steps should be followed to pay the toll:
- Go to the Darb Toll website which is darb.itc.gov.ae. You can also install the mobile app from the Google play or iOS app store.
- Make your account on the website or app and select Individual.
- Submit your original email address. Then enter the OTP which will be sent to your email.
- After completing the step, choose the emirate where your car is registered.
- Submit the traffic code.
- Submit the registered mobile number and enter the OTP which will be sent to the number.
- Enter the password to complete the registration for the site.
- Click the ‘Register’ button on the dashboard in order to register your vehicle. Select a payment method which is either a credit card or Amwal wallet. Click the ‘Pay’ option. The registration fee for the process is Dh100 on each vehicle. Dh50 from this amount will be credited as a balance in your new account.
- View your wallet by clicking ‘Top up’ on the dashboard. Choose the amount you want to add then click ‘Top up using credit card’. Submit your credit card details and then click ‘Pay’.
- All of your vehicle details can be viewed by going to the ‘Vehicles’ tab on your dashboard. You can also rearrange your vehicles to shift the monthly capped toll on all your vehicles.
Vehicles exempt from the toll
It is stated that all of the vehicles should be registered on the Darb system. However, you can apply for exemptions. The categories of exemptions are:
- A vehicle owned by retired Emirati
- A vehicle owned by the Emirati with little income
- A vehicle owned by an old Emirati, aged 60 or above
- Public buses
- Towed vehicles
- Motorcycles
- Ambulances
- Public taxis with Abu Dhabi license
- A vehicle owned by a special person
- Civil defense and armed forces vehicles having the emblems and plate numbers
- Passenger buses with a storage of 26 passengers or more
- School buses that are authorized by ITC
- Vehicles having the plate number of Abu Dhabi Police, police force of other Emirate or Ministry of Interior.
Fines announced till now
According to ITC, following fines will be practiced for the violations:
- An unregistered vehicle which did not register within the ten days period of going under the toll gate. The Dh200 fine is applied for the second pass after the grace period.
- For the third and subsequent passes under the toll gate are fined Dh400.
- For manipulating the license plate of vehicles, Dh10,000 is fined.
- In case the balance is not enough for the vehicle that is registered outside of Abu Dhabi, Dh50 is fined.
These were some of the most important details of the Darb Toll System. If you’re wondering “How can I sell my car in Dubai or Abu Dhabi“, visit CarSwitch for the best offers.
