All E-toll documents publicly available

This is according to Vusi Mona, spokesperson for Sanral.

Recently, the minister of Transport, Dipuo Peters, stated in her Budget Vote speech that there is no review of “neither policy, nor the legislation governing urban tolling or any other tolling” that has been undertaken by government.

“The documents on the GFIP answer questions as to how it was conceived; the role played by the Gauteng provincial government; why it was decided to go the E-toll route; the advantages of the upgrading of these highways and the pro-active steps to favour the poorer communities?” says Mona.

“The fact that we have exempted public transport, including taxis that are registered, from all toll fees, demonstrates our concerns about the rising cost of living among the poor, who predominantly use public transport.”

He says that open-road tolling was only introduced after comprehensive studies by respected economists pointed to the cumulative negative impact of traffic congestion on economic activity.

A clear case was made to improve the quality of the highway network in the province, and to address the high impact of congestion, wasted fuel, travel times and productivity.

“We took a long-term perspective, and also considered the consequences for the economy and its ability to create jobs and growth opportunities, should the road infrastructure not have been addressed,” says Mona.

Following a process of consultation, a considered decision was taken to fund the construction of the improved highway through open-road tolling.

Among the reasons why this specific method of funding was chosen it that it provides options that favour poorer communities through exemptions, special discounts and flexible tariffs.

“A blanket increase in the fuel levy, as favoured by Cosatu and other opponents such as Outa and the DA, would not have provided Sanral with this flexibility.” – @CarmenBoksburg