I am sick and tired of traffic!

Seriously!

I don't know if it's because it's Ramadan, or because schools started again, or because of construction, or because of Salik, or a combination of all of the above, but traffic in the mornings has been horrendous.

Every single morning, I hear the following traffic report on the radio: Getting out of the Greens, the Springs, the Meadows and Arabian Ranches is a nightmare. And it is! (well, I know in the Greens it is...)

It's simply not normal that it can take up to an hour to get out of the Greens...Just to get on the main road! But no one seems to give a crap...except for the people who live in these places of course. By no one, I mean the RTA and the government. As long as they get to make their money off of Salik, and continue their round-the-clock building of new interchanges, they're happy.

Random stuff

Been back from my vacation for around 3 weeks now, and it feels like I've never left! Good thing I have anoter small vacation coming up in 3 weeks...Yay!

A few random things that I just want to get off my chest:

- Damn it's hot! Is it just me, or has it gotten hotter and more humid MUCH earlier this year compared to previous years? I mean, I remember that in previous years, it was the months of August and September that were really bad.... Maybe we just forget!

- I am sick and tired of the fact that the exit that leads to the Greens, which is where I live, is the last free exit before Salik. This means that all the construction vehicles go through it to avoid paying 4Dhs, because the companies they work for are probably too cheap to pay the Salik tolls. This means that traffic at the entrance of the Greens usually moves at snail's pace, at any given time. Last time, I got stuck there for 30 minutes at 8:30PM! There's not supposed to be any traffic at 8:30PM!!!

- I've noticed that there are a couple of cars in my car park that have been there for a couple of years now, untouched. It's as if the owners just picked up and left. And the cars are still there, gathering dust. I know that if a car is left untouched for a few months on the main road, cops eventually will tow it away. But what happens to cars in car parks? Who's responsible for them?

- My Du saga is still ongoing. It's gotten worse actually. They cut my line while I was away on holiday. I've called them again twice since I've been back. The problem is unresolved as of yet.

- After living in Dubai for more than 3 years, I had forgotten how it feels when you get great customer service. Especially when it comes to banking. While in Montreal, I had to call my bank there for some information. Here I was thinking I had to get an appointment, go to the bank and spend time with some advisor....But no. All I had to do was speak to a very knowledgeable customer service representative on the phone, who then told me that any transaction I needed to make could be done immediately on the web! A far cry from banking in the UAE, where you have to go the bank to fill up a form to get access to online banking!

- Here's a great thing about living in the UAE: low cost of telecommunications! I got a Montreal number while I was there, and it was so expensive! I wasn't making many calls... only necessary ones to get in touch with friends... But I must have spent around $100 on phone cards in 10 days! Ridiculous! And the other ridiculous thing is that you pay for the calls that you make as well as the calls you receive!!!

- Does anyone know if August 6th is an official day off (the day HH Sheikh Zayed became president in 1966)? I wouldn't mind another long weekend :)

That's it for now. I've rambled enough as it is. Be back soon!

My Salik day

I woke up this morning dreading the traffic on my way to work. I debated whether I should take an alternate route through the Lakes. It's a longer road but would probably take less time and cause less stress.

But as I got out of my underground parking, I quickly scanned the roads and noticed that there did not seem to be any unusual traffic activity. So I opted to take my usual route, and got to work in 10 minutes. Weird.

The drive home was not bad at all either. I left work at 7:30PM and got home around 15 minutes later. I decided to go buy my Salik tag since I have to cross the Barsha toll gate tomorrow for a client meeting...and it was about time I got it anyway. I can't ignore Salik much longer.

So I head to the Eppco station next to my house, and they tell me that they do not have any tags left. Apparently they've been asking for new tags for a few days now, but they haven't received any.

Fine. So I head to another Eppco station across the road, and they do not have any either. Great!

I decide to drive down the beach road, in search of the next petrol station. I find another small Eppco station, and I'm convinced that they do not have any Salik tags. But they do. Success! Or so I thought. They needed a copy of my car registration card, which I had (for once, I had done my homework!). But apparently they needed a photocopy of the front AND back. Crappola! They do not have a photocopy machine, so I decide to u-turn to try the station across the street.

There were two stations on the other side of the street. The first one had Salik tags but no photocopy machine. The second one has tags AND a photocopy machine. Five petrol stations later, my quest for Salik was finally succesful! And you know what? They did not need a copy of the back of my registration card...

I'm worried...

I've been out of the country for a few days and came back today to news of Salik disasters from many friends and colleagues.

Having driven straight from Abu Dhabi to work this morning, I did not really experience the wrath of Salik. But apparently, the past couple of days have been disastrous for people leaving the Greens to get to anywhere! Just as I had predicted, the Greens exit being the last free exit before the Barsha toll gate, it's now become the place where traffic chaos reigns. A colleague told me it took her 50 minutes to get to Media City from the Greens yesterday.

Apparently, al Sufouh road, which was a blessing (because it took me between 7-10 minutes to get to work) has now become a scene of bumper-to-bumper mess.

The way home is not any better, with al Sufouh jam-packed again. I got my own taste of the Salik medicine this evening. I left work at 7:20 from Media City, and got home around 25 minutes later. Not so bad, some of you may think...well, it used to take me 10 minutes pre-Salik, and I would never ever get stuck in traffic on al Sufouh past 7PM.

I would like to take a minute to thank Emirates News on Dubai One, for providing me with a good 10 minutes of comic relief this evening. According to them, life is rosy again in Dubai thanks to Salik. The only news they reported was that it took people half the time to get from Sharjah into Dubai, and that Sheikh Zayed road was clear most of the day today. They also interviewed a few people who did nothing but praise the arrival of Salik.

Hmm...is that really the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth? I doubt.

Incidentally, Emirates News is now at 8:30PM instead of 7:30PM. Is it because they wanted to give people more time to get home from work now that Salik is in place?

Salik...or not salik?

Everyone's been talking about this Salik thing. And although I know it's coming, I haven't been too concerned by it...until now.

As I was driving from Jebel Ali to Dubai yesterday, I noticed the new signs that warn you where the next toll payment zone is, and where the last free exit is. Incidentally, I noticed that the last free exit before Salik charges you is the exit to my apartment. GREAT! So can I expect never ending traffic jams in a couple of weeks from now?

Anyway, since everyone seems to have an opinion about Salik, here's mine (nothing new I'm warning you...it's pretty similar to everyone else's opinion).

• This whole Salik thing seems like a ploy from the government to make more money off the residents of Dubai.
  
• I have a feeling it's going to backfire, and will end up causing more harm than good. But of course, the government won't do anything about it.
• The way I see it, Salik will just be taking the traffic away from one road, and putting it on another... I can just see it now: Jumeirah Beach Road and Emirates Road all clogged with bumper to bumper car.
• Why don't they just implement Salik during rush hour? Why should I pay a toll charge when I am driving down Sheikh Zayed at 9PM on a weeknight...or at 11AM on a Friday morning? Sheikh Zayed is never busy at those times, so why take money from me?
• What happens to people who live in Abu Dhabi for example, and who only go to Dubai once or twice a month? Do they have to buy a toll-tag as well?
  
• Why do I have to pay twice: as I enter the toll zone, and as I exit it? And if I do 2 trips a day, does it mean that I have to pay 16 dhs a day?
  
• If Dubai had a alternate means of transportation, I'd understand the whole toll thing to encourage people to use public transport. But right now, there's no metro, and the bus system is just crappy. And taxis will charge you toll rates anyway.
  
• Are companies going to help employees now that there's an additional cost to living in Dubai?

I dunno...I'm just really skeptical about this whole toll thing. Has anyone bought their toll tags yet? Is there anyone out there (other than the RTA) who thinks that this is a good thing?