Dubai's transport authority has announced that new parking fees across the emirate will be brought in on May 28.

The Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) said in a statement that the decision to revise the parking fee structure in Dubai was "prompted by the need to find solutions for the problem of the decreasing number of vacant parking slots in congested parts of the city".

It also aims to encourage the people to use more of mass transit means and abandon the heavy reliance on private vehicles, the RTA said.

However it added the fee hike does not affect 77 percent of the total number of paid parking slots in Dubai amounting to about 130,000 spaces.

The RTA did not outline the fees other than to say the fare in multi-level parking terminals has been raised from AED3 to AED5 per hour but it has previously been reported that the amended tariff rates for parking on the side of the street include AED2 for 30 minutes, AED4 for one hour, AED8 for two hours, AED12 for three hours and AED16 for four hours.

The parking tariff is applicable for 14 hours per day from 8am to 10pm on working days. The tariff is not applicable on Fridays and official holidays.

Metha bin Udai, CEO of RTA's Traffic & Roads Agency said: "The decision to regulate the use of parking in Dubai involving a parking fee hike covers only 23 percent of total parking slots in Dubai. The decision intends to increase the rotation of using parking slots in high-demand areas in order to make them available to the largest possible number of users."

She said a total of 11 types of parking permits will be available including permanently disabled, temporary disabled, disabled tourists and visitors, patients with chronic illnesses regularly visiting hospitals, seniors over 60, and citizens residing in controlled public parking zones.

Other types cover GCC citizens residing in controlled public parking zones, government entities, consulates operating in the emirate, and residents in residential communities where parking is prohibited at night for non-residents, in addition to permits at discounted rates offered to university students.

She said the revised fees are still cheaper than those found in major cities such as London, Singapore and Hong Kong.