Starting from August 20, Dubai’s Road and Transport Authority (RTA) will be going paperless with free digital parking permits for some people. The immediate beneficiaries will be the senior Emirati citizens and the persons of determination, as they can say goodbye to paper parking permits.
With these digital permits, the beneficiaries will be able to add up to five vehicles per permit and activate them whenever these individuals want by using the RTA website or app.
Through this initiative, the Dubai RTA will be keen to transform its services into smart and proactive ones, in line with Dubai’s vision of being a smart city.
The initiative also aims to enhance customers’ happiness, especially senior Emiratis and people of determination who form an integral part of the UAE community, by giving the latter free parking.
These free parking permits will include a range of services, including the issuing and renewing permits that will allow a beneficiary to use the Emirati city’s public parking for free.
The initiative also includes free permanent and temporary permits for people of determination, a free tourist parking permit for people of determination, a free parking permit for rehabilitation centres for people of determination, and a free parking permit for those with medical conditions, thus allowing the latter to use public parking and allocated people of determination parking spaces.
As per reports, the Dubai RTA has been working towards digitisation for a while now.
“It recently introduced a paperless violation system by fitting vehicles with scanners and deploying a smart supervisor that issues electronic tickets. Fines are then displayed on the smart app or the website,” stated a TimeOut report.
In April 2023, Dubai RTA announced free parking service for the Emirati citizens near their homes.
Under the scheme, the beneficiaries would be able to apply for a special permit online, which would allow these individuals to park for free near their houses. The free parking service was extended to all paid public parking areas within a radius of 500 metres from the place of residence.
“Citizens can submit their applications via the RTA website. The authority requires a copy of the Emirates ID, a valid Ejari, and proof of vehicle ownership,” stated a Khaleej Times report.
“The number of free permits awarded to each household depends on the size of the house. A residence with a room and a hall or a studio gets two permits, one with two rooms and a hall gets 3 permits, and one with 3 rooms and a hall gets 4 permits for free,” it added further.
“According to the guidelines and procedures outlined on the website, processing of the application takes only two working days. If the application has been approved, the permit will be sent via email,” the report concluded, while explaining the process.