Off-roading, waking up hours earlier than necessary and using two cars are some measures commuters between Sharjah and Dubai take in the hope of avoiding hours of traffic.
Leaving 10 minutes later than planned can mean that motorists are caught on the roads for more than double the time typically needed to reach their destinations.
Stalled cars, road repairs, car accidents, even bad weather as well as an aggressive traffic culture exacerbate congestion between the two emirates that some say has been a problem for nearly a decade.
Said Mahmoud, 38, has been driving between his home in Ajman and Dubai, where he works, for 10 years.
He said motorists drive "as though they own the road" and that attitude adds to a problem.
“Drivers want to overtake your car just to be ahead of you. Some drive on the hard shoulder to escape a few metres of congestion that stretches for several kilometres,” said Mr Mahmoud, who works as a communications consultant for a law firm at Dubai International Financial Centre.
Over the years, he has had to resort to several tricks in an effort to reduce time on the road and spend more time with his family after work.
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"I used to go off-road from Maliha to Al Khawaneej area," he said.
"Driving off-road requires an SUV and good sand-driving skills. I have seen many who lack these skills getting stuck in sand and - whenever I had spare time - I would stop and help get them out, but then authorities in Dubai blocked it off and it's no longer an option," he said.
On Monday, Dr Abdullah Al Nuaimi, Minister of Infrastructure Development, said a new bridge and motorway as well as a dedicated lane for lorries on Emirates Road would help drastically reduce congestion between Sharjah and Dubai this year.
“Al Budaiya Bridge, which stretches over the 4km that is considered the bottleneck, is expected to open for motorists in August this year,” Dr Al Nuaimi said.
Now 75 per cent complete, the bridge will handle an estimated 17,700 cars per hour, he said.
The bridge between Dubai’s Emirates Road and Sharjah’s Maliha motorway will help commuters regain their work-life balance and allow them to arrive at work or home stress-free instead of starting and ending their day worn out, said Mr Mahmoud.
Many residents who work in Dubai choose to live in Sharjah because rent is lower.
Aydah Kamal, a 55-year-old teacher, spends nearly four hours a day driving between Sharjah's King Faisal Street to her school in Jumeirah via AlIttihad Road.
“I took the job because it pays more. Then I discovered I was paying the price from my health,” said Ms Kamal, who is Sudanese.
“I'm diabetic and often fall ill on the road. I also pay the price of time spent with my five children, one of whom is autistic.”
Living in Dubai would mean she could avoid her daily 5am starts but she cannot move due to her and her husband's low salaries.
"I take any bridge or route that could save some of my time but the traffic has been like this for so long that I have lost hope that a change would come,' she said.
Yara Al Banna, 39, welcomed the announcement of the seven-lane bridge to ease traffic she has been suffering for nearly five years.
"I would carpool until I got my license and bought a car. It would take an average of six hours daily but getting a car reduced that to nearly four hours on most days," she said.
She said that the long hours on the road resulted in her gaining weight because she was eating her main meal between 8pm and 9pm after getting home from work.
After becoming pregnant Ms Al Banna, who said she has no option but to use Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed Road, said the long hours in the car would give her extreme back pain.
The dangerous driving on the motorway also led to a few occasions where she almost became involved in car accidents.
“Drivers brake suddenly sometimes and it is dangerous. I was three-months pregnant when, in a traffic jam, a car hit mine from behind and I spent the next three days suffering from terrible back pain. I was afraid I would lose my baby,” she said.
Some motorists have taken to beating the traffic using a two-car trick on the border between the two emirates.
An Emirati man who works for a public institution in Deira, but lives in Sharjah, said he takes advantage of owning two cars by parking one in a sandy area in the Sharjah side of Al Mamzar, crossing the border on foot, and driving his second car into Dubai.
The sand lot is partially blocked off by steel poles and stacked rocks by authorities but is quietly used by a few motorists who discovered the unique route.
"During morning peak hours, I drive my car from my Sharjah home towards this meeting point. I park and walk across through the steel poles and rocks to my other car which I parked on the Dubai side then drive away to my work," said the 40-year-old man.
He said his trick saves him a minimum of 30 minutes in Al Ittihad road’s morning traffic.
The specs: 2017 Dodge Ram 1500 Laramie Longhorn
Price, base / as tested: Dhxxx
Engine: 5.7L V8
Transmission: Eight-speed automatic
Power: 395hp @ 5,600rpm
Torque: 556Nm @ 3,950rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 12.7L / 100km
The specs: 2018 Alfa Romeo Stelvio
Price, base: Dh198,300
Engine: 2.0L in-line four-cylinder
Transmission: Eight-speed automatic
Power: 280hp @ 5,250rpm
Torque: 400Nm @ 2,250rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 7L / 100km
WOMAN AND CHILD
Director: Saeed Roustaee
Starring: Parinaz Izadyar, Payman Maadi
Rating: 4/5
How does ToTok work?
The calling app is available to download on Google Play and Apple App Store
To successfully install ToTok, users are asked to enter their phone number and then create a nickname.
The app then gives users the option add their existing phone contacts, allowing them to immediately contact people also using the application by video or voice call or via message.
Users can also invite other contacts to download ToTok to allow them to make contact through the app.
MATCH INFO
Manchester United v Manchester City, Wednesday, 11pm (UAE)
Match is on BeIN Sports
Ten tax points to be aware of in 2026
1. Domestic VAT refund amendments: request your refund within five years
If a business does not apply for the refund on time, they lose their credit.
2. E-invoicing in the UAE
Businesses should continue preparing for the implementation of e-invoicing in the UAE, with 2026 a preparation and transition period ahead of phased mandatory adoption.
3. More tax audits
Tax authorities are increasingly using data already available across multiple filings to identify audit risks.
4. More beneficial VAT and excise tax penalty regime
Tax disputes are expected to become more frequent and more structured, with clearer administrative objection and appeal processes. The UAE has adopted a new penalty regime for VAT and excise disputes, which now mirrors the penalty regime for corporate tax.
5. Greater emphasis on statutory audit
There is a greater need for the accuracy of financial statements. The International Financial Reporting Standards standards need to be strictly adhered to and, as a result, the quality of the audits will need to increase.
6. Further transfer pricing enforcement
Transfer pricing enforcement, which refers to the practice of establishing prices for internal transactions between related entities, is expected to broaden in scope. The UAE will shortly open the possibility to negotiate advance pricing agreements, or essentially rulings for transfer pricing purposes.
7. Limited time periods for audits
Recent amendments also introduce a default five-year limitation period for tax audits and assessments, subject to specific statutory exceptions. While the standard audit and assessment period is five years, this may be extended to up to 15 years in cases involving fraud or tax evasion.
8. Pillar 2 implementation
Many multinational groups will begin to feel the practical effect of the Domestic Minimum Top-Up Tax (DMTT), the UAE's implementation of the OECD’s global minimum tax under Pillar 2. While the rules apply for financial years starting on or after January 1, 2025, it is 2026 that marks the transition to an operational phase.
9. Reduced compliance obligations for imported goods and services
Businesses that apply the reverse-charge mechanism for VAT purposes in the UAE may benefit from reduced compliance obligations.
10. Substance and CbC reporting focus
Tax authorities are expected to continue strengthening the enforcement of economic substance and Country-by-Country (CbC) reporting frameworks. In the UAE, these regimes are increasingly being used as risk-assessment tools, providing tax authorities with a comprehensive view of multinational groups’ global footprints and enabling them to assess whether profits are aligned with real economic activity.
Contributed by Thomas Vanhee and Hend Rashwan, Aurifer
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Nepotism is the name of the game
Salman Khan’s father, Salim Khan, is one of Bollywood’s most legendary screenwriters. Through his partnership with co-writer Javed Akhtar, Salim is credited with having paved the path for the Indian film industry’s blockbuster format in the 1970s. Something his son now rules the roost of. More importantly, the Salim-Javed duo also created the persona of the “angry young man” for Bollywood megastar Amitabh Bachchan in the 1970s, reflecting the angst of the average Indian. In choosing to be the ordinary man’s “hero” as opposed to a thespian in new Bollywood, Salman Khan remains tightly linked to his father’s oeuvre. Thanks dad.
Director: Laxman Utekar
Cast: Vicky Kaushal, Akshaye Khanna, Diana Penty, Vineet Kumar Singh, Rashmika Mandanna
Rating: 1/5
Tearful appearance
Chancellor Rachel Reeves set markets on edge as she appeared visibly distraught in parliament on Wednesday.
Legislative setbacks for the government have blown a new hole in the budgetary calculations at a time when the deficit is stubbornly large and the economy is struggling to grow.
She appeared with Keir Starmer on Thursday and the pair embraced, but he had failed to give her his backing as she cried a day earlier.
A spokesman said her upset demeanour was due to a personal matter.
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre V8 twin-turbocharged and three electric motors
Power: Combined output 920hp
Torque: 730Nm at 4,000-7,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed dual-clutch automatic
Fuel consumption: 11.2L/100km
On sale: Now, deliveries expected later in 2025
Price: expected to start at Dh1,432,000
Timeline
2012-2015
The company offers payments/bribes to win key contracts in the Middle East
May 2017
The UK SFO officially opens investigation into Petrofac’s use of agents, corruption, and potential bribery to secure contracts
September 2021
Petrofac pleads guilty to seven counts of failing to prevent bribery under the UK Bribery Act
October 2021
Court fines Petrofac £77 million for bribery. Former executive receives a two-year suspended sentence
December 2024
Petrofac enters into comprehensive restructuring to strengthen the financial position of the group
May 2025
The High Court of England and Wales approves the company’s restructuring plan
July 2025
The Court of Appeal issues a judgment challenging parts of the restructuring plan
August 2025
Petrofac issues a business update to execute the restructuring and confirms it will appeal the Court of Appeal decision
October 2025
Petrofac loses a major TenneT offshore wind contract worth €13 billion. Holding company files for administration in the UK. Petrofac delisted from the London Stock Exchange
November 2025
180 Petrofac employees laid off in the UAE
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UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
Name: Peter Dicce
Title: Assistant dean of students and director of athletics
Favourite sport: soccer
Favourite team: Bayern Munich
Favourite player: Franz Beckenbauer
Favourite activity in Abu Dhabi: scuba diving in the Northern Emirates
Student Of The Year 2
Director: Punit Malhotra
Stars: Tiger Shroff, Tara Sutaria, Ananya Pandey, Aditya Seal
1.5 stars
The%20specs
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Stormy seas
Weather warnings show that Storm Eunice is soon to make landfall. The videographer and I are scrambling to return to the other side of the Channel before it does. As we race to the port of Calais, I see miles of wire fencing topped with barbed wire all around it, a silent ‘Keep Out’ sign for those who, unlike us, aren’t lucky enough to have the right to move freely and safely across borders.
We set sail on a giant ferry whose length dwarfs the dinghies migrants use by nearly a 100 times. Despite the windy rain lashing at the portholes, we arrive safely in Dover; grateful but acutely aware of the miserable conditions the people we’ve left behind are in and of the privilege of choice.
Ferrari 12Cilindri specs
Engine: naturally aspirated 6.5-liter V12
Power: 819hp
Torque: 678Nm at 7,250rpm
Price: From Dh1,700,000
Available: Now
