E-tolls on track

Johannesburg, 22 Jan 2009

The South African National Roads Agency Limited (Sanral) is making progress with its automated toll road system - and says e-tolls will be a reality in 2010.

Alex van Niekerk, Sanral`s manager for toll and traffic, northern region, states that plans for the "open road" toll system - which forms part of the Gauteng Freeway Improvement Project (GFIP) - are progressing.

"Prequalifying companies have been identified and when the final tender is completed - in the next two months - the candidates will receive the document to prepare their bids."

The GFIP is an initiative which aims to provide an interconnected network of inner and outer ring roads as a solution to the traffic congestion experienced in Gauteng. The project is divided into three phases - with the first phase set to cost R22 billion. All the funding will be raised through the tolling system.

Van Niekerk says the tender is divided into two - the main tender and five sub-packages. Three companies have prequalified for the main tender and another five have qualified for each of the sub-packages.

He says companies which have pre-qualified should be able to provide roadside equipment, such as the electronic tags; system design, which includes managing toll transactions and accounts; and operations, which will consist mainly of managing toll transactions.

Possible delay

"What we`re looking for is a system that can effectively detect all vehicles, manage toll transactions and register users to set off transactions against their accounts. We would detect vehicles through an electronic tag on the vehicle which would be registered. If motorists do not have an electronic tag, we would then read it through an electronic number plate system."

The electronic number plate system - an initiative by the Gauteng Department of Transport - is a system which will place a number validation label on the rear window of vehicles, along with a bar code that traffic authorities will be able to scan. Number plate manufacturers will also have to be accredited and plates bolted onto vehicles with tamper-proof screws, to prevent fraud.

The "intelligent plates" were announced in June 2007 by Gauteng MEC for transport Ignatius Jacobs, with January 2008 set as the initial date of implementation. In April 2008, the provincial department stated the changes are likely to run into mid-2009 - as the project was still in its consultative phase.

To the future...

Sanral has rolled out a 200km fibre optic network - which is used for its Intelligent Traffic System. The system uses CCTV and electronic vehicle identification and traffic sensors to measure vehicle speeds, volumes and loads, and transport routes.

Van Niekerk states the agency is "making provisions for another fibre system which will serve mainly as communication between central tolling areas" - but says details of this will only be available in the next three months.