Car rental companies should have own parking space

Dubai - No private documents relating to the renter shall be retained such as the passport or identity card.

The Dubai Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) reiterated its call to all car rental companies in the city to have their own space or garage to park their vehicles so as not to occupy slots allocated for public use.

The RTA has also announced "new stipulations for issuing permits to those who want to engage in car rental activities in Dubai as part of its endeavor to streamline the business sector".

"Anyone who wants to enter the car rental business should have at least 10 vehicles to be registered," Nasir Al Haj, director of Commercial Transport Activities at RTA's Licensing Agency, told Khaleej Times in a phone interview. "Then they should show us a proof that they have a space to park their cars because we don't want them to use slots allocated for the public or in their neighborhood."

"The company is obliged to provide at least 10 vehicles during the initial year at the main office and three vehicles in each branch. In case an entity owns vehicles exceeding Dh600,000 in value, the company shall have at least five vehicles," Al Haj explained.

For new companies, Al Haj added: "The revised conditions stipulate that the car rental office has to be approved by the Department of Economic Development (DED) and comply with the applicable procedures set by the DED."

"The car rental office shall submit a list of disowning the vehicles in the event of abolishing the license. In case of relinquishing the license, the company shall submit an evidence of owning the minimum number of vehicles in the traffic folder before relinquishment. The manufacturing year of the used vehicle shall correspond to the same year of applying for registration," Al Haj underlined.

Al Haj, however, clarified that the parking requirement is an old regulation. "But we are mentioning it again and again because they (car rental companies) cannot use public space. They should at least have a small garage to park their cars," he said.

Failure to provide their own parking space can be a ground for revoking the company trade license, Al Haj pointed out.

For Areef, owner of a car rental company  in the residential area of Karama, where there is a short supply of parking especially at night, this (parking space) can mean an additional cost to his company. "This designated parking area should be convenient and close to our office and not just in the middle of nowhere," he told Khaleej Times.

But for bigger rental companies like Thrifty Rent a Car, with a fleet of around 10,000 cars, having their own parking space is not a problem for them.

Karunesh Arya, Thrifty general manager, said: "We have 40 locations in Dubai and the northern emirates - some of these are premium locations like malls and airports. We have no problems with designated spaces and our facilities are equipped with cleaners and our vehicles are checked on a regular basis."

"We have our own parking spaces because we certainly do not want our cars lying around in open spaces," Arya added.

angel@khaleejtimes.com