Concessions made on e-tolls

DEPUTY President Cyril Ramaphosa announced concessions and a new deal for motorists using etolls in Gauteng yesterday, but the bottom line is they will still have to pay.

And those who don’t will soon find that the law is updated to block the reissuing of vehicle licences to those with e-toll arrears.

Speaking in Parliament yesterday, Ramaphosa announced that “a single, reduced tariff will apply to all motorists” within a vehicle class whether they had e-tags or not, which meant “the current standard tariff of 58c per kilometre for light motor vehicles will be reduced to 30c per kilometer”.

The 58c/km rate has been the “standard rate” for light vehicles since 2013, and those who have etags have had the discount tariff of 30c/km since then.

There is good news for very frequent users in that the monthly cap is significantly cut for light vehicles, from R450 a month to R225.

Details for heavy vehicles were not available.

Motorists who have refused to pay and have run up massive e-toll bills since the gantries were switched on in December 2013 will have to pay their bills at the e-tag rates.

“E-toll fees that are currently outstanding will be discounted by 60%,” said Ramaphosa, giving defaulters six months to pay up.

That effectively removes the punitive rate but still charges for tolls, as the existing tariffs added that 60% on to the unpaid bills.

“Settlement of e-toll fees will be linked to motor vehicle licence renewal ... motorists will need to settle any outstanding e-toll fees before vehicle licence discs are issued,” said Ramaphosa.

That development drew criticism from the opposition DA.

Ramaphosa’s proposal aims to simplify the e-toll tariffs on Gauteng’s freeways and send some of the bill to the government.

“This new dispensation presents an opportunity for a fresh start,” he said, adding that it would take two to three months to implement.

He said the discount would result in a shortfall of about R390 million a year to service Sanral’s debt, a shortfall that would be shared between the national and Gauteng governments.

Finance Minister Nhlanhla Nene would soon table a bill in Parliament to cover that shortfall.

Ramaphosa and Gauteng Premier David Makhura denied that the new dispensation was driven by the local government elections in 2016. The ANC has lost considerable support in Gauteng, following the 2014 general elections in which it scraped through to win Gauteng.

But Ramaphosa said they were addressing the concerns of stakeholders on e-tolls following the report of the review panel.

Sanral chief executive Nazir Alli called the plan a “win-win for both road users and Sanral”.

“We welcome the decision made and hope that the matter is now laid to rest so that we can focus all our energies on executing our mandate to the benefit of all South Africans,” said Alli.

The Opposition to Urban Tolling Alliance was unimpressed.

“While the government says they have lowered the tariffs, effectively they have not. They have merely removed the punitive tariff,” said the alliance’s Wayne Duvenage.

“The reduced cap from R450 to R225 per month only appeals to less than 10% of the motorists, as over 90% of users would not have exceeded that cap in the past anyway.”

The SA Chamber of Commerce and Industry was cautiously welcoming of the apparent cuts but was awaiting further details.

“It’s a big improvement,” said the chamber’s acting chief executive, Peggy Drodskie.

DA leader Mmusi Maimane criticised the plans to catch e-toll defaulters through vehicle licence renewals and the lack of amnesty for those in arrears, and said the system was collapsing.

“E-toll payments have dropped from R120m in June 2014 to R45m in January 2015.”

Ramaphosa’s announcement follows years of anger by Gauteng motorists over the e-tolls.