Eid Al Adha holiday: Free parking and no toll fees in Abu Dhabi

Transport authorities waive charges for motorists during public holiday

Parking charges and toll fees will resume on Monday. Photo: Abu Dhabi Mobility

Public parking will be free and road toll charges will be lifted in Abu Dhabi for the Eid Al Adha holiday.

Abu Dhabi Mobility - the authority responsible for public transport in the capital - confirmed that surface parking fees would be halted from Thursday until Sunday.

Paid parking charges will resume on Monday, the authority said in a post shared on social media.

Drivers will not be charged for using Abu Dhabi's Darb road toll system during the same period.

Road toll charges will be reactivated on Monday, as public and private sector employees return to work after the long weekend.

Transport officials said the Abu Dhabi Express - a minibus service offering direct travel without stops between specific locations - would be in operation from 6am until midnight during the holiday period.

The Abu Dhabi Link - an on-demand bus service which can be requested through a dedicated app - will run as usual from 6am until 11pm.

Authorities last week announced the Eid Al Adha holiday would run from Thursday, when Arafat Day is observed, until Sunday.

Eid Al Adha, which begins on Friday, means “festival of the sacrifice” and is the second of the two Eid holidays celebrated around the Arab world, coming after Eid Al Fitr.

Eid Al Adha commemorates how the Prophet Ibrahim was asked by God in a dream to sacrifice his son, Ismail, as a test of his faith.

As with other religious holidays in the Emirates, it is a time for friends and family to gather, often over meals, and reflect on their lives and faith.

Eid Al Adha around the world - in pictures

Checking a sacrificial animal at a market in Kabul, Afghanistan, in the lead up to Eid Al Adha. EPA

Sellers wait for customers at a livestock market on the outskirts of Hebron in the occupied West Bank. AFP

A livestock exhibition is held in preparation for Eid Al Adha, in Idlib, north-western Syria. EPA

Transporting cattle on a vehicle in Karachi. AFP

Workers offload a ram from a pick-up truck in Ogun, south-west Nigeria. AP

A Yemeni boy sits among sheep at a livestock market in Sanaa. AFP

A shepherd tends to a flock being prepared for Eid Al Adha, in Rabat, Morocco. AFP

A man sells sheep at a livestock market in Benghazi, Libya. Reuters

A vendor waits for customers at a livestock market in Kuwait City. AFP