Now that the question of whether government's long-contested e-toll system is going to go live is out of the way, the SA National Roads Agency (Sanral) is encouraging motorists to get their e-tags now, before the last-minute rush it anticipates begins.
This week has seen rapid movement towards the kick-off of the open-road tolling system government envisaged as far back as 2007, with the Opposition to Urban Tolling Alliance's (Outa's) appeal against the system being dismissed, the e-toll tariffs published for comment, and transport minister Dipuo Peters saying a commencement date would be announced "soon".
With the clock ticking, Sanral says it is time for people to get their e-tags. The agency's mouthpiece, Vusi Mona, says: "Government has shown its commitment to tolling as part of its transport policy and it is now the turn of law-abiding motorists to do the same."
He says Sanral is expecting a "last-minute rush" and that is why it is encouraging people to obtain their e-tags and register now - rather than later.
While Outa chairperson Wayne Duvenage notes the purchase of an e-tag is not a legal requirement, Sanral says not buying one would be just cutting off your nose to spite your face, as the possession of an e-tag enables motorists to take advantage of discounts.
E-tag specifics
E-tags serve as electronic transponders and must be fitted on the windscreen of the vehicle. When the vehicle passes beneath any one of the 49 overhead gantries on the seven toll highways across Gauteng, the e-tag is recognised and a transaction is automatically recorded.
Mona outlines what Sanral positions as the benefits of getting tagged: "An e-tag has the benefit of being linked to a specific vehicle number plate, which means that vehicles with duplicate or cloned number plates will be easily identified. This is just one of the benefits of the technology we are using. The days of licence number plate duplication are numbered. The technology also allows us to see the flow of traffic on the e-roads from a control centre and to respond to incidents on the highway speedily."
Sanral has indicated that about 600 000 motorists - of the around four million registered cars in Gauteng - have e-tags, although this figure has been questioned by adversaries of the system.
Questions and concerns
ITWeb put some of the questions and concerns you have raised around e-tags to Sanral - and here is what the roads agency responsible for the running and maintenance of the system had to say:
Q: Do road users have to register for payment on Sanral's Web site? Some are nervous about divulging personal and banking details.
A: As previously indicated in the media (and on the e-toll Web site), a road user does not need to give their banking details to Sanral. The prepaid account option works on a similar basis as a prepaid cellphone. A road user can register and top up their account with cash, debit card or credit card at a customer service outlet, and once tolling commences, top-up facilities will also be available at Checkers, Pick n Pay, Shoprite, Spar and the Edcon mobile platform.
Motorists can register in the following ways:
* On the Sanral Web site - www.sanral.co.za
* By phone - 0800 Sanral (726 725)
* SMS your vehicle licence plate number to 4404 - and Sanral will call you back
* By fax - 0800 Sanral (726 725)
* By walking into one of our customer service outlets.
Q: But what about people who perhaps do not have a computer and connectivity, and will be inconvenienced by having to physically visit an e-toll support centre or kiosk - are there any alternatives means of paying e-toll fees or submitting queries available to them?
A: Yes. The permanent e-toll customer service outlets have self-help terminals, where an e-toll account-holder can access their e-toll account. E-toll enquiries can be made at an e-toll customer service outlet, or by phoning the e-toll call centre on 0800 Sanral (726 725).
Payments can be made at e-toll customer service outlets for cash, debit card or credit card payments. Additionally, an e-toll account-holder can make a payment by phoning the e-toll call centre (0800 726 725) by using their credit card."
Q: Is Sanral perhaps considering approaching or has it approached SA's banks to set up an integrated payment system that will allow people to pay e-toll bills using an ATM (like one can do with Lotto, for example)?
A: A tender was invited some years ago whereby this option was offered to the market. The tender was awarded and top-ups can be made at Checkers, Pick n Pay, Shoprite and Spar, as well as the Edcon mobile application.
Q: How many e-toll kiosks are there in Gauteng?
A: There are 43 e-toll customer service outlets located at malls and 11 e-toll customer service outlets located along the Gauteng e-roads.
Q: Will the e-toll kiosks be open over the holiday period - and if so, what are the hours?
A: The e-toll customer service outlets located at malls follow the operation hours as per the mall it is located in. The customer service centres along the Gauteng e-roads will also be open during the holiday period and will operate on their 'normal' 6am to 10pm operating hours, depending on demand considerations.
Q: Is it true that, in the case of a prepaid e-tag, a motorist does not qualify for discounts if their account is not topped up?
A: A registered e-tag account-holder has access to the following discounts: e-tag, frequent user and time of day. A registered e-tag account-holder will lose the discount on transactions that are older than seven days, as the alternate toll tariff applies then.
Q: How will motorists from other provinces, travelling in Gauteng, be billed and charged?
A: Infrequent e-road users can pay their toll fees by:
* Registering an e-toll account with only the vehicle licence plate number as identifier; or
* By registering and obtaining an e-tag (to receive all discounts), or
* By purchasing a day pass.
A day pass:
* Can be purchased at a cost of R50 (for class A2 users);
* Is valid for a 24-hour period after the first gantry pass;
* May only be purchased for the same vehicle 12 times a year;
* Is only valid on the Gauteng e-road;
* Should be purchased not more than 30 days before or on the day of making use of the Gauteng e-road;
* Cannot be activated retrospectively, ie, it cannot be used to pay for toll transactions that occurred a day or more before the purchase of the day pass;
* Is valid for the payment of all toll transactions and any number of kilometres driven on the Gauteng e-road, as per the conditions set out above.
A day pass can be purchased:
* Online at www.sanral.co.za;
* By phoning the e-toll call centre at 0800 SANRAL (726 725). Note: when completing the e-toll account registration via the call centre, the banking details are entered via a telephone's touch pad on the telephone and not recited to an operator;
* By visiting an e-toll customer service outlet.
Should a road user not have registered an e-toll account, or purchased a day pass, before making use of the Gauteng e-road, the road user can pay for the toll transactions within a seven-day grace period.
Q: What will happen to motorists that evade payment?
A: The Sanral Act requires a road user to pay a toll when passing a toll point. It is a road user's legal responsibility to pay toll and not paying is, according to the Act, a criminal offence.
On the Gauteng e-roads, there are signs at every off-ramp (exit) of the e-roads, providing details about the payment of tolls. These signs and the toll tariff signs, located along the Gauteng e-roads, before the toll point, indicate that the road user has a seven-day grace period to pay the toll fee applicable to that toll point.
The administrative process that will be followed is as follows:
* Although the toll system is a prepaid system, a road user has a seven-day grace period, from a gantry pass, to pay their e-toll transactions.
* If the e-toll transaction is not paid within seven days, it is transferred to the Violations Processing Centre (the section of e-toll operations that deals with overdue toll amounts).
* Due to the user's status as an alternative user, discounts (e-tag, frequent user and time of day) are no longer applied and the alternative toll tariff applies.
* Transactions are rolled up and an invoice is issued to the road user.
* A road user is then given an opportunity to settle his/her e-toll transactions and depending on the time within which the toll transactions are paid, post grace period discounts might apply.
* During that time, a debt collection process takes place.
* Once it appears that the debt collection process is unsuccessful, a final demand will be issued and the issue handed over to the prosecuting authority.
* Prosecution will be done in terms of the Criminal Procedures Act and/or Aarto [the Administrative Adjudication of Road Traffic Offences Act] pending when and where it will be implemented.
It should be noted that a large part of the process is automated.
Q: Is it fair to say - for a motorist who only passes one gantry a month for example - that there is no point in purchasing the e-tag (at a cost of R50) as this will cost more than the gantry charge itself?
A: The e-tag is free. The R50 (or R49.95) is an initial payment. Once registered, it is credited to the e-toll account as drive time. There may, therefore, be merit in still obtaining an e-tag so as to qualify for the discounts.
Q: Will having an e-tag mean Sanral can track motorists whenever it wants to and wherever the vehicle?
A: No. The e-tag only communicates to the equipment on the toll gantries.
Q: What guarantee of security can Sanral give nervous motorists?
A: All data is stored in compliance with relevant legislation and international best practice. A road user can manage their e-toll account online at www.sanral.co.za, making use of the login details received upon registration. This allows an account-holder to view and print all transactions, including being able to see the photos of the transaction at the gantry, have access to their account profile, view and print financial documents and log enquires. So the account-holder can track every activity on their account.
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