Toll road robbery – the worst kept secret ever
It’s official. From 23 June 2011 Gauteng motorists will pay through their noses to use the province’s freeway network. Although we’ve had more than two years to grow accustomed to the idea, few of us were prepared for the 66c/km toll announced by the country’s SA National Roads Agency Limited (Sanral) on Friday, 4 February 2011. Motorists who use the 185 km of improved highways will be tolled via a series of 47 gantries, which have electronic equipment to capture vehicle license plate and e-tag details.
There are two ways to “pay” the toll. The preferred method will require that you purchase an e-tag, which must be placed visibly on your vehicle’s front windshield. Each time your vehicle passes under a gantry an amount will be debited to your e-tag account. Motorists will pay R1 000 up-front for the e-tag (such amount to be credited to their toll account) and subsequently be billed a reduced toll rate of 49.5c/km. Medium sized trucks with the e-tag will pay R1.49/km and heavy trucks R2.97/km. Alternatively a bill for the full amount (between 66c/km for passenger vehicles and R3.96/km for heavy trucks) will be posted to the vehicle’s registered owner.
Paying government for using your money to build roads
Toll roads are an emotive topic. It seems bizarre, for example, that government effectively hands over taxpayer-funded infrastructure to a “private” company, which then secures government-backed loans to upgrade said infrastructure, only to charge the same taxpayers to use it again. According to Sanral the toll will initially go towards repaying the approximately R20 billion spent on improving the roads, ongoing road maintenance and the toll company’s operating expenses. They estimate the tolling network will rake in a conservative R300 million per month!” (Which by my calculations means the loans could be repaid in seventy months)?
The trouble with toll roads is two fold. First – the taxpayers aren’t privy to the amounts of money spent on operational aspects. As de facto shareholders of these companies taxpayers should be able to call the shots on the number of toll company employees as well as determine whether the remuneration paid to these employees, and profits generated by these organisations, are fair and reasonable. Second – there’s no way of knowing when the loans for which the tolls were initially raised are paid off. In our view the toll levied on motorists should drastically reduce once the loans are settled and once the operational costs associated with the tolling activities stabilise.
Some objections are inevitable
Another problem centres on enforcement. South African traffic enforcement bodies will have their work cut out if they expect the e-tag system – already applied in many European countries – to work effectively here. At a minimum they need to ensure all vehicles travelling on the tolled motorways display visible and legally correct license plates. Local consumers are particularly concerned the tolls will only impact the country’s law abiding citizens… This reader comment appeared on online news portal Fin24.co.za: “Does anybody really believe that sending letters to ‘owners’ of minibuses will result in them paying fees or penalties? Get real. They already avoid paying for anything, tax, insurance, fines, etc, and these gantries are a joke. Use an un-licensed, unregistered minibus, or register it at a false address, and the enforcement agencies can do nothing!” By the book or not, South Africa’s taxi industry has been quick to voice their concerns over the tolling plans. They want exemptions from the charges – now!
This consumer outrage echoes through hundreds of Internet posts on the topic. There are already open cries from local consumers to boycott the charges... Another Fin24.co.za reader opines: “There is only one solution to this highway robbery: don’t buy the e-tag and don’t pay the bill when you receive it. A mass consumer boycott is the answer to these swindlers and thieves!” Similar sentiment was expressed by dozens of other reader comments in response to the toll fee announcement.
Another opportunity for big brother
The toll gantries have another application. Should enforcement officers decide to, they can use the system of gantries to monitor individual vehicle speeds over sections of the highway. This method of speed enforcement has been successfully implemented on various toll roads in Europe. Provided the times at each gantry are synchronised (which they should be since they’re likely to be networked on the same computer system), an operator can determine with great accuracy the average speed of a vehicle between two booths. Gauteng’s booths will be between 5km and 10km apart, which means motorists with a heavy foot can be easily spotted and – at some future date – fined for their speeding transgressions over and above the toll fee.
Love them or hate them, it seems toll roads are here to stay. Government simply doesn’t have enough tax revenue to meet its commitments to maintain existing road infrastructure AND provide new roads. As taxpayers our only recourse is to demand greater transparency from government regards the application of toll revenues. We should be asking: Who is getting the contracts to maintain these toll roads? Who will monitor that the toll charged is indeed a fair reflection of the “least cost” of maintaining roads and covering the toll company’s operating costs? Who benefits from the “profits” generated by these supposedly private tolling concessions, and what is their political affiliation? And who will ensure the toll is reduced once the so-called loans are paid off?
Editor’s thoughts: I’m fairly fortunate in that I don’t use the motorways on a daily basis… But even making two or three trips to Sandton (from Centurion) each month could leave me out of pocket to the tune of R480. What do you think about the cost to motorists (the toll) for the Gauteng highway improvement project? Add your comment below, or send it to [email protected]
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