Festive cheer! e-tolls are here

Motorists in Gauteng and visitors to the province during the festive season will have to budget extra cash for travel when the controversial e-tolls kick in from December 3.

At Sanral's headquarters in Pretoria yesterday, Transport Minister Dipuo Peters said: "Sanral should be allowed to start collecting toll fees in order to begin to repay the debt incurred when the roads were upgraded."

Peters said those without e-tags will pay double the amount.

At the current rate of 30c/km , a motorist with an e-tag travelling between Johannesburg and Pretoria for a five-day work week would pay R240 a month.

A motorist without an e-tag would pay R400 a month.

Sanral CEO Nazir Alli said motorists would receive a bill after seven days.

If they ignored repeated reminders to pay, they would get a summons.

So far, 707000 e-tags have been issued, Alli said. An estimated 2.5million motorists use the highways in Gauteng.

Alli said cross-border visitors would also have to pay e-tolls, adding that inter-governmental negotiations had begun.

Sanral said it would make sure toll tariffs were collected before vehicles left the country.

"It is a sad day - and this is just the beginning," said Mmusi Maimane, who is the DA's candidate for the premiership of Gauteng. About 201km of Gauteng highways are being tolled and more than 300km remain.

Yesterday, Peters declined to release details of which areas formed part of the next phase of the Gauteng Freeway Improvement Project.

But Maimane said future routes are expected to be along the N14 Krugersdorp Highway, sections of the M1, the N14 to Pretoria, N3 to Heidelberg, the R59 and sections of the N12.

Though the DA has filed papers in the Western Cape High Court challenging how the e-toll law was introduced to parliament, it will not seek an interdict to prevent the start of e-tolling, Maimane's chief of staff, Jamie Turkington, told The Times yesterday.

Police, emergency and public transport vehicles will be exempt from e-tolls. The government claimed it exempted public transport as 60% of residents depend on it, and can ill afford extra expenses.

But political analyst Ralph Mathekga labelled the move " an insidious attempt by the ANC to ensure that its support base does not come into direct contact with the system" .

"Ultimately, the system will affect the poor because of the escalating food prices but the fact that the poor will not be directly affected saves the ANC from a wider public backlash," said Mathekga.

Another political analyst, Steven Friedman, said the decision to exempt public transport operators from paying e-tolls created the impression of a caring ANC.

"I don't know what the thinking was [to exempt public transport] but it certainly has that effect," he said.

Neren Rau, the CEO of the SA Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said e-tolls would increase the cost of doing business in Gauteng.

"Business has little choice but to transfer the costs [to the consumer]. Unfortunately, the consumer will pay his own cost [paying for e-tolls] and will also contribute for higher costs for goods and services," Rau said.

Cosatu, the Justice Project SA and the DA called for Gauteng motorists not to buy e-tags.