The Department of Transport has revealed how billing for its electronic tolling stations will work. However, some questions still remain on whether the department will have the capacity to deal with unregistered vehicles and non-payment by motorists.
The department says plans for the open road toll system - which forms part of the Gauteng Freeway Improvement Project (GFIP) - are progressing. Physical barriers will be done away with and toll areas will rely completely on electronic systems, the department says.
The GFIP is an initiative that 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.
The South African National Roads Agency Limited (Sanral) previously stated the system would have to effectively detect all vehicles, manage toll transactions and register users to set off transactions against their accounts. Integration with eNatis and Administrative Adjudication of Road Traffic Offences Act systems and the implementation of electronic number plates, in time, would contribute to the success of the project, said Sanral.
The Gauteng provincial government recently stated it would only start with the roll-out of its electronic number plates in February 2010. The electronic number plate system 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.
The project, which has been delayed several times over the past few years, is scheduled to run for four years, and is intended to only be completed by November 2013.
Transport minister Sbu Ndebele also previously stated that, despite concerns from rights groups and metro police on the demerit system, it would be implemented in 2010. Reports, which said the system was flawed and recommended the department halt the planned nationwide roll-out of the demerit system, "were noted” the department says.
Payment plans
In September, Sanral announced it had awarded its R1.16 billion electronic tolling contract. The bid for the implementation and operations of a multilane free flow tolling system was awarded to the Electronic Toll Collection joint venture, a consortium led by intelligent road traffic telematics company Kapsch Sweden.
In a written reply to a parliamentary question from Stuart Farrow, of the Democratic Alliance, Ndebele said all users will be given the opportunity to register as an account-holder for toll plazas where electronic toll collection will take place.
Ndebele noted that 27 000 interviews were conducted regarding the freeway user profile for the Gauteng area. Some interesting statistics obtained from this survey are that 99.7% have the use of a cellphone, while 96.7% of users have bank accounts. Another 68% of road users reported that they have credit card accounts.
Ndebele said as a result of these findings, motorists would have an option between two types of accounts, namely a prepaid account and a guaranteed postpaid account. The prepaid account would work the same as a cellphone or electricity prepaid account, and would be available to any road user - banked or unbanked, Ndebele revealed.
The account-holder will also be able to top up the account through various points, such as kiosks, transport satellite centres, or through Internet banking and selected ATMs.
A road user will set up a guaranteed postpaid account, but may elect that the toll fees are directly subtracted from the account-holder's banking account, such as a credit card.
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