Changes were made this week…

For many years, parking in Dubai was free of charge on Fridays, giving residents a break from the fees of leaving their car in street parking. Dubai’s Road and Transport Authority (RTA) oversees the management of parking, public transport and fees.

But in January came the start of a new weekend in the UAE, leaving many residents are wondering:

Is public parking in Dubai still free on Fridays?

Although the weekends changed over from Friday and Saturday to Saturday and Sunday from January 1, the parking system remained the same, with public parking still free on Fridays.

However that changed on March 28, when a new Resolution by HH Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai announced that parking will now be free on Sundays and public holidays.

This means you now need to pay for parking on Fridays.

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.

Ways to pay for public parking in Dubai

RTA recently 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.

Image: RTA Twitter