Pretoria – The South African National Roads Agency Limited (Sanral) has welcomed the decision by Opposition to Urban Tolling Alliance (Outa) not to proceed with its court action against the implementation of e-tolls on Gauteng’s freeways.
OUTA this week announced that it will abandon its court action to the Constitutional Court following their loss at the Supreme Court of Appeal.
Three courts – the Constitutional Court, Gauteng High Court and the Supreme Court of Appeal - have ruled on this matter, confirming Sanral’s view that infrastructure upgrades on the Gauteng Freeway Improvement Project (GFIP) complied with all the legal processes, including extensive consultation since Cabinet approved the project in 2007, said Sanral spokesperson Vusi Mona.
Sanral urged motorists to obtain their e-tags and register their vehicles in order to enjoy the discounts on offer.
“We can now focus our attention on implementing open road tolling so that we ease the congestion problems on our freeways and support economic growth. It’s time to move on and work together in improving our road infrastructure. We hope the likes of Outa will join us this national endeavour,” said Mona.
President Jacob Zuma signed the Transport Laws and Related Matters Amendment Act in to law in September, and the Department of Transport has gazetted the final regulations, notices and toll tariffs for comment.
Sanral has maintained that only a fraction of road users of the GFIP will pay the maximum monthly cost of using the road, which is capped at R450 for those who have registered for e-tags.
The vast majority of motorists (82.83%) are expected to only pay R100 a month. – SAnews.gov.za
