Big shock awaits e-toll non payers
Outstanding e-toll fees will be linked to the license renewal system, and road users will have to settle their bills with Sanral before new license discs will be issued.
This is according to Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa, who announced massive e-toll discounts on 19 May.
Motorists will have to pay their outstanding e-tolls upon renewal of vehicle licences, said Ramaphosa, “creating a solid link between road users and the e-toll system”.
All current outstanding e-toll bills will be discounted by 60%, with road users given six months to pay these off, he added.
The new discounts will apply whether motorists have an e-tag or not.
“A fair dispensation is being put forward to ensure the e-toll system is affordable and sustainable,” Ramaphosa said.
The fees would be “dramatically reduced” and public transport would remain exempt from paying, Ramaphosa said, announcing a new dispensation for the electronic tolling system, which was switched on at midnight on December 3 2013.
E-toll fees for light motor vehicles would be reduced from 58 cents per kilometre to 30c/km. This would apply to motorists with and without an e-tag.
The monthly cap for light motor vehicles would be “dramatically reduced” from R450 a month to R225.
“Revised caps will also be introduced to other categories of vehicles and what have you,” the deputy said.
Public transport would remain exempt from paying e-tolls. There would however be no change in fees for people who made less than 30 gantry passes a year.
The new dispensation would be implemented in phases. The new cap and revised tariffs would begin in the next two to three months. Those with outstanding e-toll fees would get a 60% discount.
Ramaphosa said the new fees were the result of talks between national government and Gauteng, and were approved by Cabinet.
In July last year, Gauteng premier David Makhura appointed a panel to review the impact of the Gauteng Freeway Improvement Project (GFIP) and the e-toll system set up to fund it.
Following public consultations it was concluded that the system placed an unfair burden on low- and middle-income households.
The panel however found there was general acceptance of the user-pays principle, and that the GFIP and e-tolls had “hugely benefited” Gauteng’s economy and residents. The improved roads had reduced travel time, improved fuel efficiency, and cut down vehicle operating costs.
The implementation of the e-toll system followed months of court cases between the SA National Roads Agency Limited and the Opposition to Urban Tolling Alliance.
Reporting with news24Wire
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