Sanral announces final Gauteng toll fees and discounts

Gauteng car users will pay 66c/km when the province’s open-road toll collection system goes live on June 23.

However, this will be for users without etags, such as visitors from other provinces. This is called the vehicle licence tariff.

The use of an etag – the so-called etoll tag tariff -- immediately qualifies the user for a 25% discount, said South African National Roads Limited (Sanral) CEO Nazir Alli on Friday as he announced the toll tariff structure for the 185 km of Gauteng freeway network in the process of being upgraded.

This etag discount brings the toll fees down to 30c/km for motorcycles, 49,5c/km for cars, R1,49/km for trucks between 6 m and 12,5 m long, and R2,97/km for vehicles longer than 12,5 m.

All fees are inclusive of VAT.

Heavy truck operators can then still claim their VAT back, said Alli.

Further discounts will include 50% off for public transport vehicles, such as minibus taxis, on top of the 25% discount for etag users. However, any such vehicle must have a valid transport operating licence.

Time-of-day discounts will see users pay less when travelling outside peak periods. For example, travelling in the peak period from 06:00 to 09:59 on a weekday morning will result in 0% discount, but travelling from 10:00 to 13:59 will see a 5% discount.

Road use on public holidays will result in a 25% discount, noted Alli.

A frequent user discount will only be available to car and motorcycle users.

If for example, a user’s cumulative toll fees for a calendar month have reached R940 or more after discount, then that user will receive another 50% discount. A monthly toll account of between R100 and R250 will receive a 2,5% discount, with the various price bands in between offering various discounts.

Users can calculate their toll fees at http://www.sanral.co.za/tollcalc .

Calculations require entry and exit points into the freeway system, the number of journeys a month, the time of day the user intends to travel, and the vehicle class used.

Motorbikes are classified as A1, cars as A2, smaller trucks as B, and heavy trucks as C.

Gauteng Freeway Improvement Project (GFIP) senior project manager Alex van Niekerk on Friday calculated that the fees for a commuter travelling between Pretoria and Johannesburg inner-city – the M1 is not tolled – coming to the conclusion that a car user travelling in peak periods for a month (22 days) will pay R418 in toll fees after discount.

Alli said commuters will be able to buy an etag for R49,95 at retail outlets such as Pick 'n Pay, starting in April. Upon registration, their accounts will immediately be credited with this purchase price.

A toll will be collected each time the vehicle carrying the tag passes underneath an overhead gantry. Each gantry is linked to a specific length of road on the freeway system.

Users must pay their toll fees within seven days. They can choose to link their etag to their credit cards, or load money onto their accounts through debit orders of electronic tranfers, for example.

Nonpayment will result in the levy of administration fees, fines and, finally, prosecution – in that order.

Discounts are not available to holders of arrear accounts.

There will also be an on-road enforcement unit.

Alli said users can register their tags on the Sanral website, by phoning the etoll call centre, or they can make use of customer service centres at malls, or Sanral centres along the Gauteng freeway system.

Alli added that the tolling of the Gauteng freeway system has become necessary as the “huge demand” on the national fiscus does not leave funding room for large road expansion projects.

The toll fees collected will be used to service the loans accumulated to build the R20-billion GFIP, as well as for operational maintenance costs for the 185 km of road.

Alli said that the Gauteng toll project should offer users a 20% reduction in travelling time, and a 10% saving on travelling distance.