What days are now free for parking in Abu Dhabi..?

Abu Dhabi’s Department of Municipalities & Transport (DMT — Abu Dhabi) has announced that it will be changing the timings of the weekly free parking and Darb Toll fee concessions, from Friday to Sunday. A move that aligns the emirate’s parking charge model with its neighbours, Dubai.

Reverse park

As of Friday July 15, 2022 — the chargeable window for using MAWAQiF parking bays will run from Monday to Saturday, with free parking permitted on Sunday.

That same Monday to Saturday (with Sundays free) charging period, also now applies for the Darb Toll.

Darb Tolls are only collected at peak times from Monday to Saturday — between 7am and 9am and from 5pm to 7pm.

Darb Tolls are collected on four major bridges: Sheikh Zayed, Sheikh Khalifa, Al Maqtaa and Mussafah. A map of the precise locations can be found on the darb.itc.gov.ae website.

Talking about the reason behind the move, Abu Dhabi Media Office stated that it was to “further streamline the mobility of traffic during weekday peak hours, and improve road safety across the emirate.”

Ways you can pay for your parking

Abu Dhabi’s Darb app was already a pretty handy piece of kit for motorists in the capital, letting you top-up for toll payments, pay fines and even apply for parking permits, but a recent update has made it even more handy.

Yep, you can now pay for Mawaqif parking on the app — directly out of the virtual wallet. Both Standard (blue and black marked curbs, Dhs2 per hour) and Premium (blue and white marked curbs, Dhs3 per hour) parking bays, immediately.

The Darb app is available on Apple and Google Play stores.

You can also still pay for your parking by SMS please see our guide on exactly how to do just that.

Paying for Darb

ou can set up your Darb account on the darb.itc.gov.ae website or via the Darb app. There’s an initial charge of Dhs100 with Dhs50 returned as credit.

Violators who don’t comply with the rules may face fines of up to Dhs10,000.

Handy Helplines

DMT Service Support Centre: (800) 850

Taxi Service Call Centre: (600) 53 53 53

Images: Provided