The Department of Transport (DoT) on Thursday warned that it would still take a few weeks before a new toll fee structure for the Gauteng freeways would be placed on the table, as the Gauteng Freeway Improvement Project steering committee was still in the process of compiling its draft report.

The committee had been tasked by Transport Minister Sibusiso Ndebele to evaluate the toll tariff structure for 185 km of upgraded Gauteng freeways, as proposed by the South African National Roads Agency Limited (Sanral) in February, as well as engaging a wider range of stakeholders, following a public outcry over the proposed 66c/km tariff, not including discounts.
 
“Given the number of issues which have been raised during the stakeholder engagement, it is expected that once the report is handed over to the Minister, the Minister will take time to exercise his mind studying the report,” noted the DoT in a statement.

The department added that there would also be yet another round of engagement with the stakeholders who had made submissions to the committee, before any final decision was reached.

“It is only after this consultation, over the coming weeks, that the minister will then be in a position to issue a final decision on e-tolling for the Gauteng Freeway Improvement Scheme.”

DoT head of communications Thami Ngidi told Engineering News Online that this meant Gauteng commuters would not be paying toll fees from June 23, as originally envisaged by Sanral.

“The suspension by the Minister means the entire programme of action was suspended. This current process will have its own outcome. What Sanral announced is completely out of the window now. The new tariffs will only be known in a few weeks.”
 
The DoT said it could not “rush into hasty decisions on the e-tolling issue as this might, however well-intended, undermine the very aim of having engaged with all the stakeholders”.