Abu Dhabi toll system: three-month grace period for unregistered vehicles

Motorists who failed to register their vehicles for the Abu Dhabi toll system will not be fined for the first three months when passing through the four gates located in the capital.

On Thursday, the same day the tolls went live for the first time, the Integrated Transport Centre (ITC) announced a three-month grace period for unregistered vehicles.

The news came as a relief for residents as many claimed they had issues trying to register their vehicles online, prior to the January 2 launch.

As per the extension, unregistered vehicles will not incur any fines when passing through the tolls, however motorists will still be automatically charged as per the previously announced day rates.

“Have you registered your vehicle in the #AbuDhabi_Toll_Gate_System yet? Don’t worry! No penalty fares will apply today,” a tweet on the official ITC account said.

“The System gives you a three-month grace period. All you need to do is register your vehicle on time and make sure there’s enough balance in your account.”

From Saturday to Thursday, road users will pay a Dh4 charge when driving through the gates between 7-9am and 5-7pm. A maximum fee of Dh16 will be levied against commuters in any one day.

Following the tweet, the authority urged motorists to take advantage of the registration extension to avoid fines once the grace period concludes.

However, several residents replied to the thread citing ongoing problems with the online process.

“I tried [many] times and it was not working. Is there another option [aside from] online registration?” one user wrote.

“I can’t login to my account and it seems the website is down,” another said.

When The National attempted to access the website on Friday, it was working as normal.

The tolls, located on the main bridges leading to Abu Dhabi city including Sheikh Zayed Bridge, the Sheikh Khalifa Bridge, Al Maqta Bridge, and Musaffah Bridge, were first set up in October.

Initially, they were due to come into effect on October 15, however the transport authority delayed switching on the tolls as commuters from outside the emirate reported issues setting up an online account.

While motorists in Abu Dhabi were automatically signed up for the tolls, those residing outside of the emirate have to sign up through the ITC website by entering their Emirates ID details, car licence plate, mobile number and email.