AFTER the hike of Nol cards last week, it has also been confirmed that most several public parks in Dubai are no longer accepting them as form of payment on entry.
Residents and citizens who visited parks in different parts of Dubai failed to use the facility over the new year holidays.
The new development came after a partnership was signed between Du and Dubai Municipality in October last year with the aim of introducing innovative solutions for ticketless entry and improve worker satisfaction tech skills.
“The Nol card payment system has been removed in most Dubai parks… after a partnership was signed between Du and Dubai Municipality in October last year’, an official said.
Fahad Al Hassawi, CEO of Du, had said at the time: “Through our partnership, we aim to eliminate the need for physical tickets, and create a cutting-edge identity management system that will redefine the way people access and enjoy public parks.” However, there is an exception to the new system. According to the representative, ticketing in Dubai’s Quranic park still operates under the Nol card system.
How is ticketing done now?
Park lovers can now buy tickets by cash or credit cards. These are then scanned at the machines placed at the entrance to the parks where the previous Nol card machines stood. Some parks like Safa Park are even offering visitors a smart payment option through their phones. Visitors can pay through Samsung Pay, Google Pay or Apple Pay and enter the park through a ticketless process.
This smart system seems to be still in the process of being rolled out, as not all parks have introduced it yet.
The price of the tickets remains the same at each park, with only the mode of transaction being changed.
Back in 2017, Dubai Municipality made it mandatory for park-goers to own a Nol card to enter. Those who didn’t own one had to purchase a green Nol card for Dh25 from the park. Special gates were installed to scan Nol cards and residents could also use Nol applications on their mobile phones to enter some parks.
