Roadside assistance in Sharjah gets a boost with Rafid initiative

Integrated services package will be provided to vehicle owners in Sharjah through "Roadside Assistance" project - an initiative from Rafid Automotive Solutions, in coordination with the Sharjah Police.

Rafid, a subsidiary of the Sharjah Asset Management, launched the first phase of the initiative during a Press conference at the Sharjah Police Officers' Club. The initiative includes a number of automotive solutions for road violations, vehicle break-downs and roadside assistance on highways and streets of Sharjah, in addition to services from 10 towing trucks.

Rafid launched the service with an aim to develop transport operations in the emirate, offer high-quality services to ensure safety on the road and achieve a high standard response time to broken down vehicles. The recovery trucks will assist with cars that need urgent services such as refueling, switching tyres or batteries, towing broken down vehicles and delivering it to the desired workshop or destination identified by the owner of the vehicle. The tow trucks will also assist the Sharjah Police in transporting vehicles found violating traffic laws to confiscation area.

The ceremony was attended by Sheikh Mohammed bin Saud Al Qasimi, chairman of Finance Department, Maj-Gen Saif Al Zari Al Shamsi, Commander-in-Chief of the Sharjah Police, Brigadier General Abdullah Mubarak bin Amer, Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Sharjah Police, Colonel Mohammed Alai, Director of Traffic and Patrol Department of Sharjah Police, Salem Saeed Al Midfa, general manager of Rafid Automotive Solutions, Abdul Rahman Bin kannoun Al Shamsi, head of the accidents unit at Rafid and Owais Zahran, managing partner of Rafid, among others.

The move was part of the implementation of the vision of His Highness Sheikh Dr Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi, Member of the Supreme Council and Ruler of Sharjah, to transform Sharjah into an innovative and smart city by providing outstanding solutions in the road safety and service industry and building strategic partnerships who are using the latest technical expertise.

In the second phase, a fleet of 400 towing trucks will be added by September, announced Rafid. The project's requirements in its second phase include expanding the service and increasing the number of vehicles by allocating of 200 to 400 towing trucks to cover all areas in Sharjah.

In June 2020, Rafid aims to achieve a growth strategy by which all services to the public linked to a unified network.

Rafid was launched on May 15 last year to provide roadside services with the strength of 50 patrols to cover Sharjah. By February this year, it increased the fleet to 100 vehicles. Rafid also launched an initiative to exempt vehicle owners of the accident investigation fees, in alignment with the Year of Tolerance. This exemption is permanent under which Rafid bears all costs for the issuance of reports of minor traffic accidents if the owner of the vehicle has caused an accident.

afkarali@khaleetimes.com