Dubai Sunshine

Don't know about you but it seems like this kind of crap only ever happens to me! (although, deep down, I know that that's not really the case, but still...)

In today's lesson, we will discuss renewing your driver's license, and how to drive a person to ultimate frustration.

First, the facts:
1) I've had a license for 10 years here.
2) It was time for it to be renewed.
3) It was originally issued in Abu Dhabi
4) I now live in Dubai (and my residence visa is issued there too).

Chapter 1: Abu Dhabi

I head to Abu Dhabi Muroor last week. This is where they inform me that they will complete the renewal procedure in Abu Dhabi but that I'll have to pick up my license in Dubai because that's where my visa is. Fair enough.

So I do the eye test (20 dhs), pay for the renewal of my license (110 dhs) and get my picture taken, and they give me a bunch of papers and tell me to head to the last counter.

I go to the last counter and show them my papers and they hand me a driver's license (!!!). Slightly confused but not really thinking much about it, I head out of Muroor and get into the car. As we were about to hit the road, I get a call. From Muroor. Asking me to hand the license back because I need to get my license from Dubai.

OK fine, so I go back up the 100 steps of the Muroor building, hand over my short-lived license, and get a letter confirming the file transfer to Dubai.

Chapter 2: Dubai

Back in Dubai. I call RTA to find out where I can pick my license up. The man on the phone (sounding like he knows what he's talking about) tells me I need to go to Deira to get it. I get annoyed because the last time I went to Deira was probably 3 years ago...or something like that!.

Not satisfied with my answer, I call Tasjeel in Barsha to see if I can pick it up there. They say no but give me the number of the Bur Dubai Police station (which is located in Barsha right next to Tasjeel...go figure!). I call them and some woman says she has no idea but to call the RTA (she gives me another number). I call that number over and over again, but no one answers. I call Bur Dubai station again and the same woman picks up. When I complain that no one's answering, she says "well you know it's Ramadan, and we have Ramadan hours". I ask her what the Ramadan hours were and she says "9AM-2PM" (anyone know how I can get myself a 9-2 job? Please?). Mind you, it was 12PM when I called.

Anyway, I finally reach someone the next day who says that I can get my license at the Bur Dubai police station (in Barsha) which is a relief cause I actually know how to get there.

So I go the next day, and go straight to the information desk. The woman tells me I need a no objection letter, copy of passport, pictures, eye test...

Me: "No no you don't understand, I already did all that and gave the documents to Muroor in Abu Dhabi...I just need to pick up my license"

Her: "No I'm sorry you need to do the whole procedure all over again"

Me: "But this letter here confirms the transfer...I do not have a no objection letter anymore because I gave the only copy I had to Abu Dhabi Muroor"

Her: "No I'm sorry you need to do the whole procedure all over again"

Me: "Can I speak to a supervisor"

So I speak to a supervisor who confirms that "There is a misunderstanding between Abu Dhabi Muroor and Dubai Licensing Department...there is not transfer of files that actually takes place. You need to do the whole procedure all over again"

Me: "But this is ridiculous, I already paid and did the eye test..."

ARGHHHHHHHHHHH.....F*&^ING HELL!

The man was nice enough to try to help me on the spot by saying that if I got someone to email the No Objection letter he would issue the license for me...But I knew that was a long shot because:

a) It was lunchtime and the odds of me finding someone from my HR department were slim to none
b) The letter needs to be issued by Media City, and needs a few days

So now I have to go back in a few day's time, once I have the stupid No Objection letter (what's with this whole no objection crap anyway??? Why would someone object to me having a driver's license? Is there any other country in the world that requires a friggin no objection letter to get a license???)

My father called Abu Dhabi Muroor to ask them to clarify, but of course, no ones there could give him an answer because they were simply clueless.

MORAL OF THE STORY: IN ORDER TO SAVE YOUR SANITY, AVOID DEALING WITH GOVERNMENT DEPARTMENTS AT ALL COSTS!

Oh, and I am sooooooo looking forward to renewing my car registration next month!

Phew...That was a rant and a half!!! I feel much better now. Thank you for reading.

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.

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?