Motorists in Dubai increasingly are using the Metro’s prepaid travel card to pay for parking even though they have no intention of using public transport, an official from Dubai’s Road and Transport Authority tells Payments Source.
“In March, motorists used the prepaid Nol card to buy 170,000 parking tickets,” he says. “And usage of the Nol card to pay for parking is increasing daily, according to our figures.”
The Dubai government launched Nol cards in September after Emirates NBD, a Dubai-based financial institution, signed a deal with the Road Transport Authority of Dubai to issue the contactless payment cards, which consumers may use to pay public transit fares.
The transport authority first issued the closed-loop fare cards along with the initial phase of Dubai’s first subway system.
Consumers may buy and add value to their Nol cards at all Emirates NBD branches, metro stations, supermarkets and the transport authority’s customer service centers. This is a reloadable card that can be bought for 20 dirhams (US$5 or 4 euros)
“We are seeing drivers using the Nol card to avoid looking for coins when parking their cars,” the official says. “Dubai has 3,000 parking meters which do not accept only coins besides the Nol card.”
