E-tolling: Resolution or Revolution?

The e-toll protest is slowing the fast lane, but a more inclusive approach by Sanral’s new CEO may bring an e-toll resolution.

- Glenda Williams

The e-tolling of Gauteng’s freeways has sparked fierce resistance. By and large, despite the ongoing receipt of e-toll bills, road users have refused to pay up since the toll’s inception over three years ago.

Around 80% of South Africa’s 750 000km of roads are non-tolled and funded largely by allocations by government. The balance is tolled, split between concession tolls and the South African National Roads Agency Limited (Sanral’s) managed tolls, with about 10% of tolled roads falling under the direct management of Sanral.

In total, 22 000km falls under Sanral management. Of this, 3 000km are tolled, while Sanral maintains the 19 000km non-tolled roads via its annual grant of R13.5bn from the fiscus, Alex van Niekerk, manager: planning, toll and transport at Sanral, tells finweek.

Ultimately that means taxpayers fund the roads, collected through a user pay mechanism, a fuel levy – each time the average vehicle is filled, around R120 goes towards the fuel levy.

Unsurprisingly, Gauteng motorists were hopping mad when it came to light they were expected to pay tolls to travel the Gauteng Freeway Improvement Project’s (GFIP’s) improved and upgraded urban freeways – freeways that the vast majority use on a daily basis to commute to and from work.

Every day, says Sanral, around 900 000 individual vehicles carrying an estimated total of 1.2m people travel the 201km of GFIP’s freeways. The GFIP freeways include R17.9bn in road construction and the R2.7bn e-tolling infrastructure project.

But 80% of motorists are refusing to pay to use it, and close to 3m people haven’t paid their e-toll fees.

Backing their stance is the Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (Outa), which while supportive of freeway upgrading and infrastructure, is opposed to e-tolling as a means of collecting revenue for urban freeways.