Electric cars have been proclaimed to be the future of driving for a clean and green environment, and it just so happens that if you are living in the UAE and drive a Dubai-registered electric car, you are now exempt from paying for parking! Hurrah!
The statement was made by Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) who announced that from now until July 1st 2022, all electric vehicles will be exempt from paying for public parking in the emirate. There is a small catch, however, and that is that the electric car must be registered in Dubai – and as it stands, there are just 1,800 of them at the moment. Electric cars registered in other emirates will have to pay parking fees in Dubai.
Electric car owners won’t actually have to make themselves known, as CEO of Traffic and Roads Agency at RTA, Maitha bin Adai explained the new system, “Targeted vehicles can be automatically detected. Upon entering the number plate of the vehicle, the parking inspector will verify if the vehicle is electric and accordingly subject it to parking fees or exempt it, thanks to the online link between RTA’s parking and licensing systems.”
The RTA’s decision to make parking free for electric cars comes as support for Dubai’s “Green Mobility Strategy” and as an initiative to encourage people to opt for electric vehicles over those run on petrol.
Adai also added that switching to electric “contributes to improving the air quality, curbing carbon emissions, and enhancing sustainability.”
Electric car owners are also exempt from paying to charge their vehicles in Dubai.
