E-toll exemptions not materialising

There will be no exemptions for public, scholar, minibus taxi transportation or emergency vehicles for the e-tolling system at the time of implementation.

Legislation including the exemption clauses for e-tolling requires responses from the public by 9 May. However, the system is set to go live by 30 April.

The Opposition to Urban Tolling Alliance says there are still several concerns with the system that Sanral must address before implementation and this is just one of them. “[Sanral is] currently rushing into a process which even they themselves, let alone the Gauteng commuters, are not ready for.”

Government has said specific vehicles would be excluded from the system and would not have to pay toll fees.

The intent of the gazette that is to be commented on is to deal with the exemption of emergency vehicles, as well as public transportation vehicles previously left out of the draft regulations published on 27 March.

“While it seeks to exempt marked law enforcement vehicles operated by the South African Police Services (SAPS), provincial authorities, EMPD [Ekurhuleni Metro Police Department], JMPD [Johannesburg Metro Police Department] and TMPD [Tshwane Metro Police Department], it does not exempt law enforcement vehicles operated by the National Traffic Police, Sanral, or those vehicles used by SAPS detectives and this in itself bears testimony to the sloppy way in which these regulations have been drafted,” says the Justice Project SA (JPSA).

medical emergency vehicles specifically excludes private ambulance and rescue services. “Given that a high proportion of crashes on these freeways are primarily attended to by private medical emergency companies, it is untenable that they are apparently being discriminated against by this draft.”

The JPSA also says an application for exemption of “public transport vehicles” will be subject to an “application fee” to be determined by Sanral payable upfront and will not be refundable if an application were to be rejected.

Democratic Alliance Gauteng transport spokesperson Neil Campbell says it is totally inappropriate that, once again, important legislation relating to the tolls is being rushed through the legislative process over a period with many public holidays and with less than usual time for comments and input.

“This is particularly heinous. Sanral and the national transport department should be severely criticised for trying to implement tolls without even having the required legislation in place. It is inconceivable that tolling should be allowed to proceed on 30 April with important legislation still in the 'open for comment' stage.”

Sanral did not respond to requests for comment by the time of publication.

The Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) says it supports all initiatives to prevent the payment of toll fees.

Its appeal to Sanral for its vehicles to be exempt from the e-toll system was denied. “We believe that our organisation serves the public and animals in our country with dedication and commitment, and the funds that we would save in the process will be ploughed back directly toward the uplifting of animal health and welfare standards in the RSA.”

The SPCA now says it finds itself in a position where it shall have no option but to use public funds to pay for its vehicles' toll tariffs as it goes to assist animals.

Christine Kuch, spokesperson for the SPCA, is of the opinion that when animals are rescued and removed from highways this is effective accident prevention. “It is ludicrous if not downright immoral that our hard-earned cash will be used for the purpose of paying tolls.”

From last week, Sanral started displaying toll tariffs for various toll gantries on the boards on Gauteng freeways.

“With the usual Sanral obscurity and incomplete disclosure, it has chosen to display only the so-called 'discount' rate, which applies to registered e-tag users and not to those users preferring licence plate identification or who have not registered,” says Democratic Alliance Gauteng transport spokesperson Neil Campbell.

“It is misleading to the public to only display the one tariff, the lowest, which paints Sanral in the best possible light. The lack of information provided to the public has seen a huge backlash against Sanral but yet again the motorist is faced with partial and misleading information on traffic signs.”