So the new e-toll system is in full swing with all the gantries having gone live in the latter part of last year and already complaints are brewing around the billing of the new e-toll system with daily reports of problems.
One report was that a deceased man who didn’t even stay in Johannesburg was charged toll fees. There have also been a number of claims of people living far outside the e-toll zones receiving SMS messages stating that they owe money.
Sanral has been cited as using strong-arm tactics and bullying in an attempt to force road users to pay the e-toll. SMS messages have been sent out with amounts owing on them. Now printed bills are being sent to consumers but even in those there are huge flaws.
DA Premier Candidate Mmusi Maimane has started a complaints line to collate the number of problems that motorists experience, especially regarding the billing. He says that motorists can e-mail enocentn@da.org or post a picture of the SMS or bill on twitter @da_news using the hash tag #no2etolls. The DA has also instituted a court case challenging the system and its implementation.
Closer to home, I have personally noticed the number of larger transport trucks using the arterial or back roads in order to avoid paying e-toll. This raises a huge problem down the line as these roads are not built to handle the weight that these trucks carry and will invariably break apart.
While we are paying a fortune for our highway systems, where exactly will the budget required to fix the side roads come from? That’s right, you and me and our municipal taxes. Those roads just won’t get fixed and we will be forced to pay to drive on the only road without potholes.
It baffles me completely that none of this has been taken into consideration, or perhaps it has been just purely ignored. All I do know is that we have started down a slippery slope of poor planning and bad management that will undoubtedly end in financial crisis. Well, I guess what they say is true. Arrogance and ignorance really do walk hand in hand.
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