Salik forms in short supply at Qusais, Nahda

An acute shortage of application forms for ‘Salik’ tags is seen at fuel stations in and around Dubai’s Al Qusais area where new toll gates became operational on April 15.

While sales of Salik tags and Salik recharge coupons have shot up three to four-fold at many petrol pumps in the area, there is an acute shortage of Salik application forms at these outlets.

“I approached several convenience stores in Al Qusais area to buy a Salik tag. They have the tag and recharge coupons but no application forms.

“From a daily requirement of 25 application forms before the opening of new Salik gates, now there is demand for 70 to 80 Salik applications per day,” a source in a convenient store in the Al Qusais area said.

After new Salik gates became operational at the Airport Tunnel and on Al Ittihad Road, a big increase in sales of Salik tags and Salik recharge  coupons has been seen but the number of Salik application forms has been insufficient for the past two weeks.

Currently, there are six Salik toll gates in Dubai. The last two toll gates were added only a couple of weeks ago.

“There is considerable increase in peak time traffic on the link road connecting the Airport Tunnel Road to Emirates Road because motorists are trying to skip the new Airport Tnnel toll gate.  There is corresponding increase in our business too,” said sources in convenience stores in fuel stations.

According to RTA, some 260,000 cars use Al Ittihad Road per day on average, creating corresponding demand for Salik tags and recharge coupons. As one trip costs Dh4, the Salik accounts have to be recharged quite often.

“I never used to pass through toll gates while travelling from Ajman to Dubai because I could use Emirates Road, Airport Tunnel or Business Bay. Now with two new toll gates, I have to pass through one gate and I keep receiving new messages from RTA warning me about the balance,” a motorist said.

“We have enough application forms because we ordered in advance from the head office. There is considerable increase in the sales of Salik tags and recharge coupons,” added another source in an Eppco petrol station.

Dubai’s Road and Transport Authority (RTA) introduced Salik charges at two key locations — Al Ettihad Road and Airport Tunnel — on April 15. Many motorists tried to skip the new toll gates by looking for alternative routes and many who did not use Salik now opted for it.

Salik tags are sold through Adnoc, Enoc and Eppco petrol pumps, Dubai Islamic Bank and Emirates NBD Bank. All their outlets have reported an increase in Salik-related transactions.

“Try to get a Salik form from any gas station and if you cannot find it, go to Emirates NBD Bank or Dubai Islamic Bank. There is no other way to get the application forms which are not available online,” said an RTA source.

“We had to turn away many customers because we did not have enough frorms. Many Eppco and Enoc stations in the area are also short of forms,” said an Eppco source.

RTA sources said the forms are available from their customer service department or the banks.
 

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