- Parking zones and types of parking in Dubai
- How to pay parking charges in Dubai
- Parking fines in Dubai
- FAQs
The parking system in Dubai is extremely efficient and plays a vital role in managing the city’s traffic flow. The system is quite extensive with multiple parking zones, different parking cards, payment options and processes. This guide about car parking in Dubai covers all the important information about the parking system and processes.
Parking Zones and Types of Parking in Dubai
There are different parking zones in Dubai, namely Zone A, Zone B, Zone C, Zone D, Zone E, Zone F, Zone G, Zone H, Zone I, Zone J, and Zone K. Each zone is divided into three types of parking: commercial, non-commercial and special areas.
As announced on March 28, 2022, parking in Dubai will be paid for 14 hours from Monday to Saturday from 8:00 am to 10:00 pm. Parking will be free on Sundays and public holidays. Previously, Fridays were free parking days, but that has changed and now one has to pay for parking on Friday. Besides, RTA has also announced free parking in Dubai during Eid Al Adha holidays.
Zone A
Zone A and B are for commercial parking. Zone A refers to all roadside parking in designated commercial areas of Dubai. Zone A is all parking and doesn’t need a specific card. You need to be aware of the rates for the number of hours you plan to park your car.
Parking tariff:
- AED 2 for half an hour
- AED 4 per hour
- AED 8 for two hours
- AED 12 for three hours
- AED 16 for four hours
Timing: Monday to Saturday from 8:00 am to 10:00 pm with no breaks in between
Ramadan Timings: 8:00 am to 6:00 pm | 8:00 pm to 12:00 am
Zone B
Zone B parking refers to parking lots in commercial zones. Zone B parking is not as busy as Zone A, and is comparatively cheaper.
Parking tariff:
- AED 3 per hour
- AED 6 for two hours
- AED 9 for three hours
- AED 12 for four hours
- AED 15 for five hours
- AED 20 for 24 hours
Timing: Monday to Saturday from 8:00 am to 10:00 pm with no breaks in between.
Ramadan Timings: 8:00 am to 6:00 pm | 8:00 pm to 12:00 am
Zone C
Zone C refers to non-commercial parking. All roadside parking in residential areas falls under Zone C parking. To help drivers identify zones, signboards are already in place in all parking areas of Dubai.
Parking tariff:
- AED 2 per hour
- AED 5 for two hours
- AED 8 for three hours
- AED 11 for four hours
Timing: Monday to Saturday from 8:00 am to 10:00 pm with no breaks in between.
Ramadan Timings: 8:00 am to 6:00 pm | 8:00 pm to 12:00 am
Zone D
Zone D also refers to parking lots in non-commercial areas. The parking charges for areas in Zone D are the cheapest. Residential areas including Al Qusais and Al Nahda fall in Zone D.
Parking tariff:
- AED 2 per hour
- AED 4 for two hours
- AED 5 for three hours
- AED 7 for four hours
- AED 10 for 24 hours
Timing: Monday to Saturday from 8:00 am to 10:00 pm with no breaks in between.
Ramadan Timings: 8:00 am to 6:00 pm | 8:00 pm to 12:00 am
Zone E
Zone E parking spaces are special areas. Zone E covers both underground and public parking lots of the Waterfront Market, previously known as Deira Fish Market. The underground parking is free.
Parking tariff:
- AED 4 per hour
- AED 8 for two hours
- AED 12 for three hours
- AED 16 for four hours
Timing: Monday to Saturday from 8:00 am to 11:00 pm with no breaks in between.
Ramadan Timings: 8:00 am to 6:00 pm | 8:00 pm to 12:00 am
Zone F
This is the dedicated parking lot for all the Tecom areas including The Knowledge Village Hotel, Dubai Media City and Dubai Internet City.
Parking tariff:
- AED 2 per hour
- AED 5 for two hours
- AED 8 for three hours
- AED 11 for four hours
Timing: Monday to Saturday from 8:00 am to 6:00 pm with no breaks in between.
Ramadan Timings: 8:00 am to 6:00 pm
Zone G
This includes all the paid parking areas of Downtown Dubai including Burj Khalifa, Marasi Bay area and Dubai Health Care City Area.
Parking tariff:
- AED 4 per hour
- AED 8 for two hours
- AED 12 for three hours
- AED 16 for four hours
Timing: Monday to Saturday from 8:00 am to 10:00 pm with no breaks in between.
Ramadan Timings: 8:00 am to 6:00 pm
Zone H
This includes all the parking lots in Dubai Silicon Oasis.
Parking tariff:
- AED 2 for half an hour
- AED 4 per hour
- AED 8 for two hours
- AED 12 for three hours
- AED 16 for four hours
Timing: Monday to Saturday from 8:00 am to 10:00 pm with no breaks in between.
Ramadan Timings: 8:00 am to 6:00 pm | 8:00 pm to 12:00 am
Zone I
RTA introduced three parking codes in Jumeirah Lake Tower: Zone I, J and K. ZONE I represents “prime parking” with a total of three hours of maximum stay.
Parking tariff:
- AED 10 per hour
- AED 20 for two hours
- AED 30 for three hours
- AED 40 for four hours
Timing: Monday to Saturday from 8:00 am to 10:00 pm with no breaks in between.
Ramadan Timings: 8:00 am to 6:00 pm | 8:00 pm to 12:00 am
Zone J
Zone J parking lots in JLT allow a short stay with a maximum of three hours.
Parking tariff:
- AED 2 for half an hour
- AED 4 per hour
- AED 8 for two hours
- AED 12 for three hours
- AED 22 for four hours
If you just want to park your car for half an hour in Zone J, the tariff is going to be AED 2.3
Timing: Monday to Saturday from 8:00 am to 10:00 pm with no breaks in between.
Ramadan Timings: 8:00 am to 6:00 pm | 8:00 pm to 12:00 am
Zone K
Again, the parking lots in Zone K are assigned to vehicles for shorter stays with a maximum of four hours.
Parking tariff:
- AED 2 for half an hour
- AED 4 per hour
- AED 8 for two hours
- AED 12 for three hours
- AED 16 for four hours
- AED 20 for five hours
- AED 24 for six hours
- AED 28 for seven hours
- AED 32 for 24 hours
Timing: Monday to Saturday from 8:00 am to 10:00 pm with no breaks in between.
Ramadan Timings: 8:00 am to 6:00 pm | 8:00 pm to 12:00 am
Note: An additional 30 Fils will be deducted from the customer’s balance if they settle the fees through SMS. Whereas, when paying with the smart application or via Whatsapp no additional fees will be charged. Please also note that the Al Khail Gate area is now exempted from parking fees. Lastly, all parking zones offer free parking in Dubai on Sunday and other public holidays and at the time of Iftar during Ramadan.
Parking Area Categories
Paid parking zones in Dubai are categorised into two areas: category one and category two. Areas covered by Zone A and B are category one. Areas that fall under this category include:
Deira: Abu Hail, Hor Al Anz, Al Baraha, Al Muteena, Al Khabaisi, Al Muraqabat, Rigga Al Buteen, Port Saeed, Al Rigga, Naif, Ayal Nasir, Deira Fish Market, Al Ras and Al Buteen.
Bur Dubai: As for parking towards Bur Dubai, areas like Al Shindagha, Al Souq Al Kabeer, Al Hamriya, Umm Hurair 1, 2, Oud Metha, Al Karama, Al Mankhool, Al Raffa, Al Hudaiba, Al Kifaf, 2nd December street, and the sector between Dubai World Trade Centre and Interchange One on Shaikh Zayed Road.
Jumeirah: Jumeirah Beach Residence and the JBR Walk, 308th street and Al Saada Street, parallel Shaikh Zayed Road between Dubai World Trade Centre and Interchange One.
All zones that do not fall in category one in the rest of Dubai are category two.
How to Pay Parking Charges in Dubai
Paying your parking charges in Dubai is actually quite simple. You can choose any of the following methods:
mParking: If you are thinking about how to park by SMS in Dubai, mParking is the answer. This is Dubai’s mobile payment system. RTA offers the mParking e-service to make it easy for drivers to pay for paid parking in Dubai with the help of an SMS message from their mobile phone. Just follow the SMS format given by RTA and pay for your parking.
For Dubai, send an SMS to 7275 (PARK) in this format: number plate-space-area code-number of hours. Motorists can also receive hourly alerts to renew their parking tickets at an extra charge of 30 fils per SMS. Mobile parking is also available for non-Dubai vehicles. Here is a complete guide on mobile parking for non-Dubai vehicles.
RTA Dubai or Dubai Drive Application: You can easily pay your parking charges with RTA Dubai or Dubai Drive application. Just download the application, register your vehicle in the app and follow the instructions to pay your parking fee.
Paid parking machines: You can buy parking tickets using coins from the nearest parking machine. When you get the ticket, place it visibly on the dashboard.
Prepaid cards: Pre-paid parking cards are available at grocery stores and supermarkets. Just insert the card in the parking machine when you park before leaving. The parking charge for that particular zone will be deducted. These cards are available in denominations of AED 30, AED 50 and AED 100.
Seasonal parking cards: You can buy seasonal parking cards for selected parking lots in category A and B. These cards have a validity of three months, six months or a year.
Nol card: Nol card users can use their card to buy a parking ticket. The amount gets deducted from their card.
Banks with RFID: RTA Dubai enables citizens with RFID bank cards to pay for parking fees easily with their cards. Just charge your RFID card and each time you want to make a parking payment tap it to the parking fee payment device and the balance will be deducted from the card.
NFC on smartphones: RTA introduced an easy option to pay parking charges in Dubai for smartphone owners with the help of NFC (Near Field Communication) technology. You can now make a secure transaction easily to pay for parking in Dubai. All you have to do is tap your phone against the numerous POS access points placed by RTA. The app is available on iPhone, android and blackberry phones.
How to Pay for Car Parking Via Whatsapp
You can easily send a WhatsApp message to RTA and pay for parking. The process is pretty simple, send a WhatsApp message to Mahboub (RTA’s Chatbot) at 971588009090.
The WhatsApp message should be devised like a regular SMS to pay for parking in Dubai:
[Plate Number] [Space][Zone Number] [Space][Duration]
Paying via Whatsapp even saves you from 30 fils that apply on regular SMS.
Parking Fines in Dubai
Following is a list of traffic penalties in Dubai:
- If you have not paid the parking tariff, or the ticket is not visible, the parking fine is AED 150
- If your vehicle is in a parking space over the parking time, you will be fined AED 100
- The parking fine for going over the maximum parking hours is AED 100
- The parking fine for obstructing or misusing a parking facility is AED 200
- If your vehicle crosses the sidewalks or is standing on a sidewalk, the parking fine is AED 200
- If you have parked your car in forbidden parking, you will be fined AED 200
- Parking a car without a number plate, you will be fined a hefty amount of AED 1,000
- Unauthorised use of special need parking, using an expired permit results in a parking fine of AED 1,000
- Parking a vehicle in a reserved spot or parking vehicle without a permit results in a fine of AED 1,000
- If you harm a parking ticket machine, zone plates or parking areas, you will be fined AED 1,000
- Fine for placing a parking umbrella over a vehicle without a permit is AED 1,000
FAQ About Car Parking in Dubai
Is there free parking in Dubai on Fridays?
No, parking is not free in Dubai on Fridays. Parking is free on Sundays and other public holidays.
How do I know which parking zone my car is in?
You can easily identify which zone your car is in by locating the orange-coloured paid parking boards installed in each zone. These boards have a list of Dubai parking codes of areas mentioned on them.
How can I utilize Mparking or SMS parking in Dubai?
If you are an unregistered user, simply send an sms to 7275 in this format: < Plate No.><space> <Zone No.><space><Duration>. Registered users can send sms to 7275 in this format: < Nickname><space> <Zone No.><space><Duration>.
That is all about the car parking system in Dubai. Thanks to the comprehensive systems, it is easier to drive your own car in Dubai without worrying about parking. Besides, these RTA’s Smart Directional Signs have made public parking easier.
If you don’t own a car yet and are looking to buy one, browse through this list of used cars in Dubai and find the one you want. Here are some popular brands to explore:
- Used Toyota cars in Dubai
- Second-hand Mercedes cars in Dubai
- Used Nissan cars in Dubai
- Used BMW cars in Dubai
Stay tuned to UAE’s top car blog for more information on used cars, parking guides, public transport and places to visit for car enthusiasts.
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