But you’ll have to pay for parking on Fridays…

For many years, parking in Dubai has been free on Fridays but according to a new Resolution by HH Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai parking will now be free on Sundays and public holidays.

This means you will now need to start paying for parking on Fridays.

Sheikh Hamdan issued the new amendment today on March 28 via Dubai Media Office and his official website.

The change in free parking dates comes three months after UAE residents started the new working week schedule switching from Sunday – Thursday to Monday – Friday.

The new resolution states that paid parking fees will be collected for 14 hours from 8am to 10pm daily except on Sundays and public holidays.

The tweet added that multi-storey parking facilities will charge parking fees round the clock on all seven days of the week.

According to hamdan.ae, ‘vehicles can be parked in public parking areas for a maximum of four consecutive hours in roadside parking slots; 24 hours in parking lots; and 30 days in multi-storey parking facilities.’

According to the Resolution, the Director-General and Chairman of the Board of Executive Directors of the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) is authorised to change or reduce the timings for paid parking, and exempt certain categories of people, areas or time periods from parking fees.

Ways to pay for public parking in Dubai

As of December end, RTA announced that you can now pay for your public parking fees using its new WhatsApp bot, Mahboub. All you need to do is add Mahboub to your contact list on 0097158 800 9090. Head to the WhatsApp app to ‘chat’ with Mahboub to pay your public parking fee. The format is ‘plate code and number<space>area code<space>time in hours.’

You can also pay using the RTA app, where you can top up credit and quickly and easily find your location, set the amount of time you need, and pay and renew as you go.

Finally, you can SMS 7275 with your plate code and number<space>area code<space>time in hours – however, this will incur a Dhs0.30 charge each time.

Images: Getty Images