E-tolling is officially here, with thousands of motorists this morning christening the controversial system by driving through the 45 electronic tolling structures that have, up until now, been overtly present but not operational.
While motorists have seen this day coming for some time now - many with the reserved hope that the one-and-a-half years of legal battles and protests would help avoid - scores of them are still up in arms.
Twitter this morning bore testament to the sense of bitterness and defiance the general public still feels, with #Etolls, #Etags and #Sanral trending throughout the morning. One member tweeted: "Gauteng roads: from freeways to noways overnight #eTolls" - echoing a wider base of anti-toll sentiments.
Despite a failed last-ditch attempt to thwart the onset of e-tolling by the Freedom Front Plus yesterday, various factions have vowed to continue the fight. The Democratic Alliance this morning held a protest on the corner of Rivonia and Witkoppen roads, while the Congress of SA Trade Unions is expected to hold a media briefing to outline its anti-toll plans later.
Traffic reports this morning indicated gridlock across both Gauteng's highways and alternative routes, with Witkoppen and Rivonia roads severely backed up. One motorist tweeted: "Hour-and-a-half over the last six kilos. Inner city roads are gridlocked. Could this be #eTolls?"
Church leaders have also spoken out against the state's SA National Roads Agency (Sanral) and Department of Transport's decision to forge ahead with a system they say is "costly and inefficient".
The leaders - which include among others SA Council of Churches president bishop Jo Seoka, Methodist Church of Southern Africa bishop Zipho Siwa and the Central Methodist Mission's bishop Paul Verryn - are urging people of faith to show their rejection of e-tolls "in peaceful and non-violent ways" and have reiterated the call for people to refuse to purchase e-tags.
Wait and see
Opposition to Urban Tolling Alliance (Outa) chairman Wayne Duvenage says the system is live now and all that is left to do is wait and see what happens. He points out that, despite the increase in e-tag sales Sanral has touted, the figure is still relatively dismal.
"[Sanral] has under 40% of motorists with e-tags and when you start tolling, you need to start with 90%. The system has launched already and generally, if someone is going to get tagged - they are going to do so before launch.
"Anyway, we will have to wait and see what happens now and it is going to be interesting. The system won't fail overnight. Only after government has beat its drum and flogged a dead horse for a while, and realises the people are not buying in, will they throw in the towel."
Meanwhile, Outa continues to advise motorists that it is not a legal requirement to get an e-tag.
Part to play
In a statement this morning, ANC national spokesperson Jackson Mthembu justified the government's decision to use e-tolling as a means of funding roads infrastructure and said the state had heeded the public's concerns by - among other things - exempting public transport vehicles.
Mthembu said the ANC was grateful to those who had already bought their e-tags - a figure he puts at "almost one million" - and said this was contributing to the province's "world-class and sophisticated" infrastructure that has lightened the burden of travelling time and contributed to road safety.
He said the ANC was aware of and appreciated the dissatisfaction of many road users with regard to the implementation of the e-tolls, but says "the point of disagreement is not that the roads have indeed been improved, but rather the funding model that has been adopted".
"Extensive consultations have taken place around the funding model of the Gauteng Freeway Improvement Plan and concerted effort made to resolve the mutual challenges identified. The e-roads are a significant contributor to the unlocking of greater economic potential of the country and the region. We all have a part to play."
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