Cabinet on Wednesday approved the final toll tariffs for the roughly 200 km of road improved in the first phase of the Gauteng Freeway Improvement Project (GFIP), with taxis and buses the big winners as they are to be exempted from paying toll fees.

GFIP tariffs were first announced in February, but were then reviewed by a government steering committee following a public outcry over the fees as determined by the South African National Roads Agency Limited (Sanral).

The committee proposed a revised toll fee structure at the end of June, recommending a drop from the original 30c/km for motorcycles to 24c/km, and a decrease from 49.5c/km for cars to 40c/km. The proposed toll tariff fee for medium trucks was to go down from R1.49/km to R1/km, and for heavy trucks from R2.97/km to R2/km.

Taxis were to be charged 11c/km, down from 16.5c/km, and commuter buses 36.3c/km, as opposed to 50c/km.

These rates were all based on a vehicle sporting an etag on its windscreen, and did not include other discounts, such as frequent user and off-peak discounts, which were still valid under the revised fee structure.

The toll tariffs as approved by Cabinet ratified all of the rates set out by the steering committee, including discounts, with one difference: qualifying taxis and buses are to be exempted from paying toll fees.

The  Department of Transport said in a statement released on Thursday that Sanral now had to implement the Cabinet decision, adding that “further announcements regarding implementation would be made in due course”.

Cabinet said it would also now relook the further rollout of the GFIP, with the newly announced Presidential Commission on Infrastructure to take special interest in the multibillion-rand project to upgrade and expand Gauteng’s highways.

IMPLEMENTATION STILL MONTHS AWAY, SAYS SANRAL

Sanral GFIP senior project leader Alex van Niekerk told Engineering News Online on Thursday that Cabinet’s announcement was largely in line with the fees presented by the steering committee, of which Sanral was a member, bar the exemption of taxis and buses.

However, he said implementing the new toll fee structure would still take some time owing "to various processes” that had to run their course.

For example, Sanral would have to calculate the impact of the exemption of public transport vehicles on the GFIP’s proposed income stream.

Etags would also need to find their way to stores, and toll-road users would have to be afforded time to open their accounts, which would allow them to qualify for discounts.

“These processes will take a few months,” said Van Niekerk. “A rollout programme will be announced in due course.”

AA SLAMS REVISED TOLL FEES

The Automobile Association of South Africa (AA) on Thursday criticised the toll tariff structure as approved by Cabinet.

“While industry as a whole now awaits Sanral to announce the effective date for tolling to begin, the AA does not see the implementation of tolls, albeit at a slightly discounted rate, as a ‘victory for the people on the ground’, as coined by government spokesperson Jimmy Manyi.

“Rather, it seems that with the exclusion of public transport from tolling, the usual suspects are left to foot the bill – more like another blow to the head of the motorist than a victory for the people,” said AA spokesperson Gary Ronald.

He warned that goods were going to increase in price as a result of tolling Gauteng’s highways, and that the poor would be worst affected.

Ronald also raised the question of whether or not law enforcement bodies would be able to manage the civil disobedience of a “disgruntled five-million motorists”, should the “public rally together and stand firm in the face of tolling by not registering for etags and flagrantly disregarding tolling costs and consequent fines”.

He said “affected industry groups” would be considering their next course of action in the days ahead.

He added that some guidance would be provided by the reaction of the public and industry to Cabinet’s announcement over the next few days.

Bussines Unity South Africa (Busa) commented by saying that the e-tolling system would introduce "significant administrative and cost complexity for business" that would be felt right across the spectrum, from the tourism to the manufacturing industry.

"The 7-day payment terms requirement still remains a worrying concern, as it will cause cash flow disruptions," it added.

Busa also noted that the exemption granted to taxis and commuter busses would, to some extent, soften the pain for commuters, but said it undermined the user-pay principle.

"The cost impact on fast-moving consumer goods, particularly basic foodstuffs, will still be felt most significantly by working and unemployed poor," the organisation said.