The South African National Roads Agency Limited (Sanral) has dismissed allegations that it will implement the same Open Road Tolling system in Cape Town as it has in Gauteng.

Sanral has labelled the allegations as “grossly misleading”.

“Firstly, whereas in Gauteng we went out to borrow money in order to build the road, with Cape Town we will be appointing a concessionaire on a build, operate and transfer basis. This means the concessionaire will finance and maintain the road, returning it to the state in a specified condition after the concession period,” said Sanral’s head of communications Vusi Mona in a statement on Thursday.

“Secondly, there will be toll plazas along the N1 and N2, unlike in Gauteng, with an option for motorists to either pay manually or use a lane that will require them to slow down as they approach a toll booth, enable an e-tag fitted in their car to be recognised by the technical equipment at the toll plaza, deduct the required tariff from a motorist’s e-toll account, lift the boom and allow the motorist to pass through without having to stop. The payment takes place electronically. That is what e-tolling means – a method of paying your toll fees electronically.”

Mona said the system had been operating at the Bakwena Toll Plaza for the past 12 years, providing a convenience to those who value their time and do not want to stop at a toll gate.

The Gauteng e-tag system has been operating at Bakwena since the beginning of September last year, offering interoperability that is the first in the world.

“This means toll customers can pay for travel and related services across provinces with a single account. We are moving towards a one account system serviced by a transaction settlement system open to multiple toll operators. All our concessionaires are cooperating with us in this regard. If you are a Cape Town motorist driving in Gauteng or on any toll road, you will be able to use one account if you have opted in to use the e-tag system,” said Mona.

The confusion created around e-tolling was unfortunate, he said.

“At times it is unclear whether one is dealing with opposition to tolling as a principle or opposition to the method of collection. Tolling was first introduced in South Africa in 1984 and e-tolling is not a new phenomenon in the country. So, what people may be against is the tolling of urban roads.”

With the recent release of the Tom Tom Congestion Index that shows Johannesburg and Cape Town as the first and second most congested cities in South Africa, Mona said it was necessary to toll urban roads both as part of travel demand management and as a source of revenue for the financing of road infrastructure.

“Sanral’s allocation from the fiscus is about R10-billion per annum and the N1/N2 Winelands Project requires just about that amount. We obviously can’t allocate our entire budget to national roads that pass through one city. The fiscus is under pressure and we have to find alternative ways of financing road infrastructure. Tolling is one option. The fuel levy is inflationary and not sustainable,” he said.

Meanwhile, Sanral has confirmed that e-tolling in Gauteng is set to commence within the next two months. This follows discussions  between Sanral and government.

“What we are now waiting for is the completion of the Parliamentary process, half of which is already done. As soon as the National Council of Provinces finalises the Transport and Related Matters Amendment Bill, the Bill will go back to the National Assembly for adoption.

“Transport Minister Ben Martins will then announce the tariffs which will be followed by the necessary notice periods. That whole process will take us about two months to complete. Thereafter e-tolling will start,” Mona said.

The agency has encourgaed Gauteng motorists to register for their e-tags so that they can qualify for discounts and also avoid the last minute rush.

Motorists can register through an e-toll customer service outlet located at a mall or along the Gauteng e-road, by phoning the e-toll call centre at 0800 SANRAL (726 725) or by visiting Sanral’s website at www.sanral.co.za.

So far, there are approximately 600 000 e-tags registrations.

Mona said Sanral was thankful to those citizens and corporates who had come forward to register.