Free parking and toll gates in UAE announced for the Prophet Mohammed's birthday

Residents gear up to enjoy a three-day weekend

The Integrated Transport Authority in Abu Dhabi has announced free parking and waived toll fees for the upcoming holiday. Photo: ITC

Residents across parts of the UAE can enjoy free parking during the upcoming Prophet Mohammed's birthday.

The Integrated Transport Centre in Abu Dhabi announced on Wednesday that parking will be free during the holiday from Friday until 7.59am on Saturday.

Surface parking will be free of charge, while parking spots at the Mussafah M-18 lorry car park will also be free.

The authority urged drivers to avoid parking in prohibited areas and blocking traffic movement.

It also urged motorists to park properly in the designated areas and avoid parking in residential areas from 9pm until 8am.

Darb tolls will also be waived on Friday, with charges to resume on Saturday during the regular peak hours between 7am to 9am and 5pm to 7pm.

Public bus services in Abu Dhabi will operate based on the usual schedule throughout the weekends and the official holidays.

Dubai's Road and Transport Authority (RTA) has also confirmed it will be waiving parking fees in the emirate to mark the occasion.

"Except for the multi-level parking terminals, all public parking will be free on Friday 29 September 2023 and the parking fees will be reactivated on 30 September 2023," read a statement from the RTA on social media.

All customer happiness centres in the emirate will be closed during the holiday. The smart centres in Umm Ramool, Deira, Al Barsha, Al Kafaf and the RTA's head office will continue to operate however.

The Dubai Metro service will be running on both the red and green lines from 5am on Friday to 1am on Saturday morning.

Dubai Tram will run from 6am on Friday until 1am on Saturday. The city's bus network will start from 5am on Friday and run until 12.30am Saturday.

Sharjah City Municipality also announced on Wednesday that public parking across the city will be free on September 28.

However, the waived fees exclude designated parking spots with blue information signs.

The private and public sectors will have a holiday on Friday, September 29, to mark the Prophet Mohammed's birthday.

The announcement was made by the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation last week.

Earlier, the Federal Authority for Government Human Resources confirmed that public sector workers would be granted a public holiday on the same day.

The Prophet Mohammed's birthday is typically a time for quiet reflection rather than celebration, with festivities scaled back.

Pupils and staff at private schools in Sharjah will also enjoy a longer weekend than most of the UAE, after Thursday was announced as a holiday to mark the occasion.