Parking fees in public places are not likely to be imposed until a proper public transport system is in place in the country, a senior official of the Ministry of Municipality and Urban Planning has said. “We have conducted a study on imposing parking fees, as part of the parking master plan for the country. However, it is not feasible to implement the proposal until people have safe public transport options. Once such a system is in place, we will be in a position to evaluate whether people are moving from private vehicles to public transport,” said Mohamed Abdah, director of Transportation and Infrastructure Planning Department at the Ministry, addressing the first UITP MENA Public Transport and Large Events Summit yesterday. Parking fees, congestion charges and hiking petrol prices are some of the ways to promote a public transport system in any country. However, these are policy matters to be decided by the higher authorities. “Once we have a proper public transport system, we will be able to take up such issues with the higher authorities,” said Abdah. Meanwhile, The GCC railway project is on track but no time frame has been set for its completion, Abdulaziz Al Ohaly, Deputy Minister of Transport and UITP MENA chairman said here yesterday. The proposed rail network will start from Kuwait and end in Muscat, Oman, connecting the UAE, Qatar and Bahrain on its way, said Al Ohaly. “All the GCC countries are now working on their part of the network. However, implementation of the project requires funding and detailed preparations. The GCC committee dealing with the project will meet next week to review the preparations,” Al Ohali, who is also a member of the committee told The Peninsula. “The project is no more dream. It is going to be a reality,” he said, adding that no specific time frame has been set for its implementation. The Peninsula

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