Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) and Dubai Police said on 26 September that truck movement restrictions would take effect across the emirate from 1 October 2026. The joint decision does not set one time window for every Dubai road: some roads have restrictions around the clock, certain major roads and residential areas have a long daily ban, and selected urban streets have three peak-period windows. Emirates Road is exempt. The varying scope means operators need to check the rule for each named road and area rather than apply one schedule across the network.

The authorities listed Al Qudra Street, Al Meydan Street, all crossings and Airport Tunnel among locations with a 24-hour truck ban. Sheikh Zayed Road and Beirut Street, as well as residential areas including Al Mizhar, Muhaisnah and Oud Al Muteena, are subject to restrictions from 6:00 am to 10:00 pm each day. On urban roads including Airport Street, Oman Street and Damascus Street, the three daily windows are 6:30–8:30 am, 1:00–3:00 pm and 5:30–8:00 pm. Those hours apply to the locations named in the announcement and should not be read as a citywide timetable for every road.

RTA and police said the measure is intended to improve traffic flow and road safety, ease congestion on key corridors and take account of commercial transport needs while keeping goods moving. They urged drivers to use permitted alternative routes or designated truck rest stops during restricted periods. The announcement also refers to a permit route for essential cases requiring movement on banned roads or during banned hours. The release describes the aims and compliance arrangements; it does not report measured changes in journey times, traffic volume or incidents after implementation.

RTA said 14 of 16 planned truck rest stops across six strategic locations had been completed. It also reported that 364 parking spaces had been added at seven rest stops, taking the total at those facilities to 1,007, and that four more permanent rest areas were planned with private-sector partners. These are agency-reported facility counts, not the total truck-parking supply across Dubai. The release says the rest stops include accommodation and rest facilities, prayer rooms, restaurants, retail outlets and fuel stations. It provides no utilization rate for the newly added spaces.

The decision changes how freight operators must plan trips during restricted periods; it does not announce a new port or cargo terminal. RTA and Dubai Police said they would run an awareness campaign explaining the scope, timing and alternative routes. Their statement also cites approximately 400,000 truck journeys across Dubai each day and more than 150,000 trucks using rest stops each month. Those figures describe different measures and time bases. The source does not provide a post-launch evaluation showing how much the restrictions changed congestion, travel times or crashes, so the stated aims cannot be presented as measured outcomes.