e-toll – praag.org

Gauteng claims 800 000 e-tags sold with traffic crawling

Early reports on the second day of e-tolling in South Africa’s Gauteng prrovince indicate that motorists are avoiding tolled highways and using alternative routes.

According to spokesman for the Johannesburg Metro Police, Edna Mamonyane, “Over and above, people are using alternative routes and they have been avoiding the N1, N3, and N12 since yesterday,”

She said traffic on the M1 North to the Johannesburg city centre was very congested too. Traffic lights not working added to the problems.

Mamonyane said she did not know how long motorists would avoid the tolled routes. “We cannot say if motorists will eventually get e-tags or not at all.”

According to transport minister, Dipuo Peters, “As of yesterday, we have slightly below 800 000 e-tags that have been committed.”

Despite appeals by columnists and activists not to pay or participate in the system, some members of the public were yesterday seen queuing up at shops to buy e-tags.

However, a professional woman who declined to be named, said that she was not going to pay. “I simply cannot afford it. I have to drive around to meetings with clients all day long and added to the price of petrol and insurance, it would cost me an absolute fortune if I had to make use of tolled roads.”

Columnist Manfred Delport, writing in Afrikaans on praag.co.za, appealed to motorists not to pay. As only 7% of traffic fines ever get paid, the percentage of e-tolls legaly recuperated for non-payment, would not be any higher, he argued.

Democratic Alliance Gauteng MPL Neil Campbell said the alternative routes were not viable.

“One of the roads on this list of alternatives is Witkoppen Road which already carries a huge volume of traffic and has a collapsing bridge.”

Prominent engineers had expressed serious concerns regarding motorists’ safety on the road but nothing had been done to fix the bridge.

“I hope no lives are lost before this process is complete as the blame for any loss of life will then rest squarely on the shoulders of [Gauteng roads and transport MEC [Ismail Vadi].”

Dipuo Peters claims that “the monthly toll costs to individual users are much over-estimated by critics of the project. Actual expected monthly tariffs payable by light motor vehicles show that about 83 percent will pay not more than R100 per month and 0.59 percent of motorists in the same vehicle class will reach the maximum monthly cap of R450. These numbers have been derived from the actual vehicle data collected by the toll system. Again, those who oppose the project are free to do so but even from opponents certain minimum standards are expected when it comes to engagement and debate.” – praag.org

Traffic diverted in Johannesburg for Economic Freedom Fighters

Traffic will be diverted in Newtown on Friday during a protest march by members of the Economic Freedom Fighters against e-tolls, Johannesburg metro police said.

Spokesman Chief Superintendent Wayne Minnaar said the protest would start from Mary Fitzgerald Square at 10am.

“They will proceed up Bree Street, turn right into Simmonds Street up to the office of the premier where a memorandum will be handed over,” he said.

“They will return to Mary Fitzgerald Square along Fox Street and Miriam Makeba Street. The march should be over by 1pm and we are expecting about 2000 marchers.”

On Wednesday, the EFF in Gauteng said the implementation of e-tolling would rob Gauteng residents of their hard-earned money.

The EFF called on citizens, civil society and anyone opposed to e-tolling to reject the system, as it represented a “systematic and well planned robbery by the [President Jacob] Zuma-led African [National Congress] government”.

A legal challenge to e-tolling by the Opposition to Urban Tolling Alliance (Outa) was dismissed by the Supreme Court of Appeal on October 9.

Outa announced on October 18 it did not have money to continue the legal fight against e-tolling. Outa’s argument remained that the SA National Roads Agency Ltd and government did not conduct a proper public participation process. – Sapa

E-toll on its way after Zuma signs act into law

President Jacob Zuma has signed into law the Transport Laws and Related Matters Amendment Bill — paving the way for e-tolling, the presidency said on Wednesday.

“The president… has, in terms of Section 84 (2) of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996, signed the Transport Laws and Related Matters Amendment Bill into law,” said spokesman Mac Maharaj.

“In effect, the act will provide more effectively for the collection of toll; to amend the Cross-Border Road Transport Act, 1998 (Act No 4 of 1998), to empower the Cross-Border Road Transport Agency to collect toll on behalf of Sanral….”

The law in effect gives the SA National Roads Agency Limited (Sanral) the nod to put into effect e-tolling on Gauteng’s freeways.

The signing came on the same day that the Supreme Court of Appeal was hearing argument in an attempt by the Opposition to Urban Tolling Alliance (Outa) to stop e-tolling in Gauteng.

The court was told that legislation allowed Sanral to explore options other than tolling to fund Gauteng’s freeways.

It also heard that Sanral should, therefore, have kept an open mind about the matter, despite the Cabinet’s approval of electronic tolling.

“Even bound by the Cabinet decision, they still had to follow the procedures of the act,” said Mike Maritz, for Outa.

He argued that the Sanral Act allowed Sanral to explore other funding options. Sanral should have considered this and should not have been bound by Cabinet’s decision that the project be funded with public money through e-tolling.

The High Court in Pretoria had granted Outa leave to appeal against a previous judgment, handed down in December, dismissing its bid to have the e-tolls scrapped.

Judge Fritz Brand asked whether Sanral should have ignored Cabinet’s decision.

Maritz said Sanral should have kept an open mind and taken all options into consideration.

Last week, Transport Minister Dipuo Peters said the Gauteng Freeway Improvement Project would be implemented in 2013, but that a starting date had not been determined.

The e-tolls have been challenged by political parties and the Congress of SA Trade Unions (Cosatu).

In April 2012, the High Court in Pretoria granted Outa an interdict approving a full judicial review before electronic tolling could be put into effect.

The interdict prevented Sanral from levying or collecting e-tolls, pending the outcome of a review. Sanral and the National Treasury appealed the court order.

In September last year, the Constitutional Court set aside the interim order, and in December, the High Court in Pretoria dismissed the application.

The court granted Outa leave on January 25 this year to take the matter to the Supreme Court of Appeal in Bloemfontein. – Sapa

Virtually no-one registering for e-toll in Gauteng

Gauteng’s e-toll registration outlets were empty on Thursday with virtually no-one registering for e-tags, despite the looming April 30 deadline, when the tolls go live.

The bright orange e-toll registration outlets, operated by the SA National Roads Agency Ltd (Sanral), are in shopping malls and alongside highways across Gauteng for motorists to register for discount toll fees.

Yet, despite being staffed with between three to five cashiers and a branch supervisor, outlets had no customers. At one, a cashier was painting her nails while another was reading a magazine.

Some outlets also had self-help computers for those who didn’t need direct help, flat screen televisions sets and comfortable chairs in anticipation of the queues.

At Maponya mall in Soweto, human resources consultant Tshepo Tsotetsi was the only registration in an hour.

“I registered my wife and myself with a heavy heart. I don’t want to break the law and I use the highways all the time getting around for work,” he said.

“But I didn’t do it in good faith.”

At the same mall Bafana Mkhabela took an e-toll registration brochure.

“I use my mom’s car to get to college in Centurion and, although I don’t want to register, she thinks I should,” the third-year computer student said.

“It’s going to cost our family a lot though, because I go through four tolls just to get to college.”

At Cresta centre in Randburg, the e-toll outlet was empty, despite three cashiers waiting for customers. Businessman Tertius Barnardt, who uses the post office next door daily said he had never seen anyone inside.

“Yesterday I took a pamphlet from a woman handing them out at a traffic light,” he said, “she was so delighted and surprised that I was even prepared to take one.”

Barnardt said he was still unsure if he would register.

“In Gauteng, we are up to our necks in fees and taxes,” he said, “and where is the money for this going to go?”

Lwando Malotana, a training consultant from Randpark Ridge, said he was hoping the whole project would be scrapped before he had to register.

“I watched what happened with the national strike in March and I have been following the debate with interest,” he said, referring to the protest against e-tolling by trade union federation Cosatu.

“I will wait and see and maybe register just before the tolls go online.”

San Ridge Square in Midrand was busy on Thursday, the parking area full, but the e-toll outlet empty. This area would be heavily affected by the e-tolls on the N1, which links the area with Johannesburg and Pretoria. At this e-toll outlet, five staff chatted with each other to pass the time.

Stephen Maupi, a credit controller for a cellphone company, said he commuted from Randburg to his office in Midrand, and constantly moved around Gauteng visiting stores.

“In South Africa these things are proposed and then we just have to pay. I would like to know more about this Austrian company that has been involved with the e-tolls and where the money from all of this is going to go.”

Michael Mafagane, a maintenance worker commuting weekly from Pretoria to Midrand, said he welcomed the move to exempt public transport from e-tolls.

“There are a lot of cars with just one person in them driving on this highway. Maybe it’s time people started using public transport to save on e-toll fees. This is one way of cutting down the traffic on our roads.”

At Benmore shopping centre, three cashiers watched the clock until going-home time. The mall was busy but no-one was at the e-toll outlet.

Douglasdale retiree Robin James had no intention to register for the e-toll.

“If the authorities can’t get an electricity bill right, why would I give them access to my bank account for the e-toll?” he asked.

“No, we have had enough. They (Sanral) can send me a bill. If they can find me.”