ABU DHABI // Many motorists in the capital had to fill their own cars with petrol for the first time on Tuesday — with varying degrees of success.
Adnoc’s Smart Self-Service Fuelling trial began with residents required to fill up at four of Adnoc’s service stations: the Rabdan station in Al Mushrif area on Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum Street, Al Nasr station on Sheikh Zayed the First Street, Al Zafarana on Muroor Road and Al Qanah service station on Al Khaleej Al Arabi Street.
Forecourts were busy as staff explained the new procedures to motorists.
“This is the first time I’ve used it, it looks simple but they should use more payment options,” said Emirati Lofty Bamatraf, who was filling up at the Rabdan branch.
“It’s a lengthy process. I was trying to select through the bank card but it was not accepting it. They told me it’s not yet activated,” he said. “My refuelling is finished but it’s still showing fuelling in progress.
“There is an option to pay using an Emirates ID card and I did the registration two weeks back,” he said. “But it was not working.
“I am planning to go for smart tag. I want a system similar to Salik, just come, fill up and go. First impression is good, but they should make it more smart.”
Another Emirati at Al Zafarana on Muroor Road said the new system was causing delays. “Look at the traffic jam on the main road, they should choose some petrol stations that are not that busy. It’s busy and we have to wait a long time for petrol. I had other things to do but now it’s late so I can’t do them. It took me 20 minutes to get the petrol,” he said.
A woman from the UK had a better experience. “I am happy that similar systems are being implemented here as we have in our country,” she said.
Adnoc says the new system will help drivers and make filling up quicker and easier. “We are closely monitoring and evaluating the pilot phase of Adnoc Smart and the customer’s actual experience throughout the eight-month period,” said Abdulla Salem Al Dhaheri, chief executive of Adnoc Distribution. “Based on the outcome, we hope to expand the service after carrying out improvements as needed across our network of service stations in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi.”
To use the system, customers should register for an “Adnoc Wallet” account. It allows customers to pay at the smart service stations in three ways: via Smart Tag, a smart chip installed at the fuel inlet of a vehicle’s fuel tank and linked to the Adnoc Wallet account, the Adnoc Plus cards, or via their Emirates ID cards also linked to the Adnoc Wallet.
Further details can be found at adnocdistribution.ae/en/motorists/adnoc-smart
The pilot phase will continue until October 1.
newsdesk@thenational.ae
