Why Salik is going to work

Ever since the introduction of a proposal by the Road and Transport Authority (RTA) to implement an automated road toll system there have been huge outbursts and protests. The primary concern of the citizens (mainly the expatriates) is that the system is just not going to work, or even if it does it will just cause more chaos and havoc.

Initially the system will be implemented between the Al Garhoud bridge till the Dubai Police Academy interchange on Sheikh Zayed road. The thing that bothers most people is that the entry and exit points to those roads do not have any toll gates. Hence it is possible for someone to say use Al Khail road to get around the toll bridge and join up at Sheikh Zayed road at another point. While this does look like a sure shot method of circumventing the Salik system it would still be able to achieve its task. The problem is not with the implementation of Salik, the problem lies with the interpretation of what Salik is supposed to do.

Before dwelling into this matter perhaps it would help to revisit a similar system, one that was criticized in a similar manner and scoffed and frowned upon. This system has been the envy of many governments with the surprising efficiency it is operating at. It has been studied over and over and even copied by places such as the City of London. It is none other than the Electronic Road Pricing (ERP) of the great Lion city, The Republic of Singapore; a city from where our great rulers of the United Arab Emirates have been commonly known to borrow economic policies from.

The ERP system aims to reduce traffic within the Central Business District (CBD) of Singapore. It also is placed strategically at the entry and exit points of expressways and arterial roads that are known to have heavy traffic. ERP is however charged only during peak hours and this basically discourages use of these roads during these periods and gets them to resort to using alternative routes.

Coming back to the Salik system it is not difficult to associate with ERP. Salik like ERP is placed on the Sheikh Zayed road so that people would be discouraged from using it. This would push people off Sheikh Zayed road and get them to consider alternate routes such as Al Khail road and Emirates Road.

While this sounds like a stupid plan to merely diverge the traffic of one road onto other roads and clog those in the process it is crucial to note that Sheikh Zayed Road, running all the way from Trade Centre Roundabout all the way till Abu Dhabi was built with little thought of how this region would undergo such rapid expansion. It was previously just a two lane road then overhauled to have four lanes on either side or at some places over six in each direction.

It was necessary to device a means to get traffic off this road and onto other newer roads which have been built to handle such traffic. By their ability to handle such traffic it is in no way implied that either Al Khail or Emirates road have no traffic on them. By ability to handle such traffic it means a road that is not under constant renovation and construction to add lanes or flyovers. This diversion is essential till at least other alternate means of travel such as the Dubai Metro system (implications of this are covered later) are put into place.

Salik was not devised as a means of reducing traffic on Sheikh Zayed road, though commonly known to be implemented for this reason. The current objective of Salik from a road planning perspective for RTA is the reduction of bottlenecks.

If the current position of the toll bridges is examined this matter could be clarified further. Consider point A to be Garhoud Bridge and point B to be the toll bridge between Al Quoz and the EMAAR development community (the one that houses Emirates Hills, Meadows, and Springs etc.). Point A is one of extreme traffic as it is a key point of commuting between most people lying between anywhere from Abu Dhabi and point B to Sharjah (where most expatriates are know to live due to far more economical means of living). Point B is what could have been called a classic exodus; several thousand people living in one area all having one means of getting to main Dubai, be it to get to their workplace or schools or even to get food.

In order to re-emphasize the objective of Salik and its parent the ERP system it is restated – reducing congestion at key and arterial points of traffic. When the Salik system would go live people would resort to alternative routes of commuting to Point A and Point B, this would result in a direct reduction of traffic at both points. Reduction in traffic would not take place at exactly these points but several interchanges in advance in both directions as people would have to exit well in advance to take their desired alternative route.

The main point to consider is that Salik is here to stay. It will soon be a popular system that will go live throughout the country and serve as an efficient means of reducing traffic; similar in nature to their counterparts be it in Singapore, Hong Kong or even London (where it has drastically cut down on traffic within the Congestion Zone, Zone 1).

Once the Dubai Metro system is active the wide use of Salik will literally inhibit the use of automobiles as a popular means of travel and even the affluent would consider the use of public transport. If not for the cost cutting factor, as a convenient means of transport. Segregation of classes similar to the British Railway system (not racial segregation! But classes of travel) would be essential to culminate the lack of desire of the well heeled to commute with the common man.

Use of Salik throughout UAE would also come with added benefits. Once it can be used as a wide spread means of identifying your vehicle (similar to the compulsory In-Vehicle Unit or IU of Singapore) it can further benefit the public.

Traffic at pick up and drop off points at hospitals can become less clogged; only taxis would be permitted free entry and all other vehicles charged. Once a vehicle drives up to the barrier of the hospitals entrance its Salik tag would be read and the vehicle would be identified as a taxi (each Salik tag has a unique id which in a central database is linked to its license plate) and entry would be permitted, all other vehicles would have the fee deducted from its Salik tag.

Paid parking lots would no longer be a hassle. Salik readers compounded with the use of automated barrier systems would tag vehicles on the way in and out. This would avoid the need for fumbling for loose change or an hourly payment system. A minute based parking payment system could be implemented by use of such means. This reduces the unwillingness on the part of the vehicle driver to pay for paid parking when he/she is sure that only a part of it would be used.

The past proven performance of systems such as Salik does shed some light of optimism and in the long run should benefit the entire traffic infuriation in the region. The Land and Transport Authority of Singapore reports that upon implementation of their ERP system (during peak hours) the road traffic reduced by nearly twenty five thousand vehicles and the average road speed increased by twenty percent. In addition to this the entire restricted region saw a traffic reduction of thirteen percent during operational hours.

What is interesting to note here is that, the public transport system infrastructure before and after implementation of the ERP system was the same. What changed is merely the willingness of the consumer (in this case the driver) to utilize the service (the road) during those hours or encouragement of public to utilize the alternative means of transportation. Now would similar efforts being put in to place especially with the coming of the Dubai Metro system and the reduced use of the Salik system not pave the way to frequent and regular use of the metro?

The future does look bright for the traffic condition of Dubai though with time other modes of correction would have to be implemented such as the Certificate of Entitlement (COE) system. This would limit the introduction of new cars every year by a fixed number which would be sold off by an auction system (rich vs. poor situation is unavoidable in this case but seems to work well). Schemes such as this are only feasible once the whole of UAE is interlinked by an accessible public transport system.

In closing it should be noted that as in any economy the consumer only looks into his immediate benefit while the government has to plan for and act on considering scenarios and their long term implications. This insight considered by the government of a country while often not perceived or overlooked by an individual is often in their own interests.

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You’re currently reading “ Why Salik is going to work ,” an entry on Rambling of a .COM Fanatic

Published:: 6.20.07 / 4pm

Category:: Ramblings

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A recent post graduate from the University of Kent where I completed my Msc. Distributed Systems and Networks. Prior to that I spent three years completing my undergraduate in Bsc. Computing Science (Honours) in Middlesex University, London.

Currently looking forward to taking up an entry level position within an organization and joining the Computing industry.

Eldose 6.23.07 / 8pm

Well said. One of the more informed opinions on Salik Ive read so far..

bonk 6.26.07 / 1pm

Yes, a thoughtful commentary on Salik. But does a 4 dh toll charge not seem rather steep?

Vikram Mohan 6.27.07 / 1pm

Im not sure the Dh. 4 is a too steep a charge given the Purchasing Power Parity of UAE.

Atleast it is a fixed rate and not variable like other such implementations where other external factors are taken into account.

Commentry on pricing of ERP system of Singapore can be seen at http://www.cemt.org/topics/urban/Tokyo05/Yap.pdf
(Edit: Link updated to http://www.internationaltransportforum.org/jtrc/DiscussionPapers/DP201001.pdf)

It makes some good reading.

An additional link on the “Critical Success Factors for Implementing Road Charging Systems” at http://www.internationaltransportforum.org/jtrc/DiscussionPapers/DP201003.pdf makes for some interesting supplementary reading too.

Ashok Atnerkar 7.1.07 / 6pm

I agree, it is well said by Vikram.

Today, 1st July 2007, when Salik has started and people arrived late in office, everybody complaining about the system, the charges and at the backdrop of large scale discussion on radio, I was prompted to understand what have been global reactions to such moves. After reading Vikram’s thoughts and other inputs on Singapore’s ERP system, I am sure it’s a step in right direction. I plan to give a project speech on this topic in my next Toastmasters Club meeting.

Vikram Mohan 7.1.07 / 6pm

I am glad you feel so. Only time will tell though how the system works out…… Not today, not tommorow, not next month….

Bobby 7.2.07 / 2am

Hi Vikram,
well, the government defenitely has to look at long term plans. Does that mean that they should not consider the current situation before they start something like salik?
All the approach roads to makthum bridge and shindaga tunnel were blocked today, the first day of salik. I wanted to get to garhoud from Deira taxistand, but couldnt do it easily because all the approach roads to maktum bridge were jam packed and I had to pass all these areas to reach garhoud. With all these construction works and road diversions, this is not the best time to start salik.

Dubai need not necessarily get the singapore effect because singapore has far less number of vehicles on the road. Going in a car in singapore is a luxury whereas in Dubai it is a necessity at this point of time because public transport is inadequate.
Climate is another disturbing factor and it cannot be compared to Singapore. This forces people to use their private vehicles.
RTA surely lacks planning and Dubai Police had hinted this last month. It was very evident today as well when all the RTA buses ran late( my wife travels by bus everyday).

RTA could have waited for some more time!!

hemlock 7.4.07 / 4pm

vikram, your essay is well… “thought out”, agreed, but except for metioning that salik tags will become a big brother-chip in the long run (tracing the vehicle’s activity), it doesnt explain why salik had to be implemented NOW.

no one likes jams and most rational people would take alternative routes if avaliable. no one had heard of emirates road less than two years ago, and for the last one year ive been hearing about the “national paints roundabout” phenomenon… meaning people spilled over. people went further out to travel by dubai-bypass road… putting mileage on their cars, but saving on time.

there just arent enough alternative routes available to make the system viable. what people have been screaming about is that moving a traffic jam from point a to point b doesnt eliminate the jam. in fact, point b might not have the capacity to hold that traffic, so the jams will get worse.

i took garhoud yesterday to see how effective salik is. garhous was clear, granted, but you step off on khwaneej, or itihad road… and it’s the SAME THING! while it took me 1 hour to get home on pre-salik days, it now takes me 1.5.

alternatives? make a more efficient PTsystem. increase no. and condition of busses. allow car-pooling / paid pick& drop. implement salik when & if metro is operational.
take areas like naif road, for example. you find niether parking, nor a road to drive on. will they put up toll gates there too, to solve congestion issues?

Ralf 7.5.07 / 6pm

Hi Vikram,

good thoughts. But:

- Singapore has a brilliant and diverse public transport system
- Singapore is much smaller and has shorter communiting ways
- Singapore has already a brilliant infrastructure

Dubai can’t offer that, but what it can is taking money from people.

I am for road tolls, if implemented right. Look at Austria, Switzerland, France, Italy etc. They all have road tolls and different apporaches.
While you buy your tag in Austria and Switzerland with a validity of one year, Italy and France have usage dependent systems.
Dubai has a usage dependent system as well, but is not measuring the usage (distance wise). If I come from The Greens and take a U-Turn at MOE, I am charged 8 dhs, the same amount as if I go to the airport.

My advice would have been:

Charge something like 200/300/500 AED for a tag, whcih is valid for a year. With the tag you are allowed to enter the so-called congestion zones, without the tag you can’t (or get fined if you do).

This way you can also go around to have all the hassle of recharging, running out of credit, registering etc. PLUS the government has the chance to decide on new “congestion zones” whenever they think it is appropriate.

What would you think about this? The other idea would be to have salik bridges on each and every entry and exit of highways (like in Germany for trucks). You pay for what length of street you use. You drive much, you pay much, you drive less, you pay less.

However, I have never seen a toll system on this planet, that charges you for entering AND exiting AND let you use the stretch in between for free??? Where does this logic come from?

Regards and have a great weekend,
Ralf

Arjun 7.16.07 / 1am

Couldn’t agree with vikram more. Very well said. Personally even I feel one of the most important reasons in implementing salik would be to encourage the use of public transport by all classes of people. This would decrease the traffic congestion considerably and help the environment (one of the key issues mentioned in the Dubai Strategic Plan)

Karan Mehra 7.30.07 / 4pm

Well no doubt about Vikram being correct and this is RTA’s long term plan which i always had an idea about from the start and i very well support it to. But all these are future plans and there are current situations that make me a little ticked of with salik at times. I might be getting a little repetitive here but yes 4 Dhs is too steep a charge, because looking at the way cost of living is going up even 4 Dhs is too much for a middle class man. plus the implementation was too fast, they should have waited for floating bridge and other bridges and roadways to open up or even the metro so that people had enough options to travel from instead of clogging alternate routes or being forced to use salik unwillingly.

But i guess the way Dubai grew something had to be done fast and the way businesses were suffering indirectly from traffic problem maybe waiting for some more time would have had worse outcomes. Thus all Rta can do is be less stylish in getting the best in the world and instead something more feasible in terms of time of development and the indirect tax put on the ordinary man to pay up for these developments because the more stylish n expensive a development is, the more we will pay in forms of salik etc.

Plus Rta is compromising on parking space for these developments in roadways. They are selling off existing parking lots or other properties that are marked as PU (public utilities) to people who then use the land for some other purpose. This is a fact that might have not come into the public or media but i have seen quite a few of such examples. Now don’t tell me Rta is doing this is encourage less cars in road and stuff cause this is utter bullshit and they just financing their style stating developments.

Rest I still support their long term plan which is quite clear and looks successful but the cost and time factors are very crucial. Maybe like Singapore having timings on salik is a good idea and Rta trying to squeeze out their costs by various methods like salik, selling Parking lots or even thru registration costs of car or obtaining license which is all become so expensive to afford will upset people thus Rta needs to work out a good strategy on this too because the more expensive it becomes for people to live in Dubai, in the long term will affect the progress of the country and all these long term plans for developing Dubai that Rta is doing will suddenly seem useless. Thus all departments of the government need to work together.

Suresh 11.9.07 / 11am

Hi Vikram,
I live in Singapore and agree with you completely on your readings about ERP. I think what matters most is advanced planning and execution. Singapore plans 30-50 years in advance. Many projects that we thought are waste of money several years ago have proven to be well-planned strategies ahead of time. ERP is an ideal solution for a place like SIngapore. Each city should have a system that meets its internal requirements and challenges and at the same time should be scalable for next 30-50 or even 70 years. That’s where Singapore has been successful, I guess.

BTW, I have a specific query. I had almost planned to invest in a property at The Greens. After reading your blog-post, I am having second thoughts. Do you think I should avoid buying a property there as it seems to be becoming a bottle-neck area for Salik-dodgers. Is Dubai RTA doing anything to avoid congestion around the Greens area? Your advise will be very valuable.

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Why Salik is going to work

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