Totally unfair
It is totally a clear sign of inequality and injustice because there are many things to be considered prior to implementation of such a rule. The first is expatriates are salaried employees and most of them are low paid.
Second public transportation is not as good as in other countries so that mostly people can use them and as far as taxi services are concerned they are too expensive to be used on a daily basis.
Thirdly if such a rule is implemented then it should be for those also coming to Bahrain on weekends as they block majority of the highways, roads etc and even cause so many accidents. I think imposing such extra charges on expatriates in everything like electricity bills, rentals, driving licence etc is totally unfair.
Samira Mir
So illogical!
What’s wrong with an expat driving a vehicle in Bahrain that has triggered someone to even think this is correct?
Like seriously, where are they supposed to get that monthly BD50 from when salaries for a driving job is merely BD150.
Chrispine O Ogolla
Not affordable
Taking money from expats and spending it on Bahrainis... why don’t you deduct BD50 from the monthly grant which you are giving to Bahrainis?
The driver normally earns BD150 per month... If he gives BD50 road tax what will he eat or send back to his country..?
Jawad Aslam
What a joke!
And apparently Bahrain is the best country in the world for expats... What a joke! This is outright racism. Imagine the outcry in the UK if a rule like this was in place.
I understand if they want to start charging a “road tax”. But let the amount be nominal, and most importantly, applicable to all drivers. Not just expats. Crazy that I have to say this out loud in 2017!
Mel Bernadette Iggz
Alternatives...
The cost of driving in Bahrain is very cheap compared with other countries, and one way to reduce traffic congestion would be to increase the cost of driving in some way.
However, this proposal is not targeted properly and it would be better to do other things; e.g congestion zone(s), parking charges, enforce parking restrictions properly, enforce yellow boxes and other rules properly. Then on the other side improve public transport further with higher frequencies, bus lanes, BRT, etc.
Tim Woodward
Business threatened
I think that it is the worst decision charging BD50 per month, especially with salaries so low in Bahrain.
By doing this they are not only going to drive away the expatriate crowd but it will also affect other businesses as car sales will drop further, less aftersales, insurance companies will suffer and hence eventually there would be a cut in workforce or salaries.
With lower sales the government will earn less revenue with less car registrations and renewals. Hence economy will suffer further and it will backfire. It’s time to wake up.
Suaid Mulla
Metro the answer?
The government should build a metro in Bahrain as soon as possible.
Charging fees for expats isn’t a solution to the traffic jams all over Bahrain when most of the locals have more than two cars in each family, on the contrary most of the expats have one car per household.
Build new transport methods otherwise Bahrain will see traffic pile-ups on every road in the next five years. Most of the road traffic gets piled up due to traffic signals which are for long duration and cause accidents due to jumping of red light and speed instead of roundabouts where traffic moves smoothly and less chance of accidents coz u can’t speed while crossing a roundabout...
Blake Dsouza
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