Pretoria - Gauteng MEC for Roads and Transport Ismail Vadi says he is satisfied with the smooth start of the e-tolling system on Gauteng highways.
E-tolling commenced on designated parts of the Gauteng Freeway Improvement Project (GFIP) at midnight.
“We are pleased that the e-tolling system is operational and without any incidences. We are also happy that the traffic flow on the alternative routes equally proceeded without any disturbance,” said Vadi.
He further assured the public that his department remained committed to upgrading and maintaining alternative provincial routes to an acceptable and safe level on an ongoing basis.
“This is to ensure that motorists can exercise a degree of choice when using the provincial road network,” he said.
Earlier today, Transport Minister Dipuo Peters said close to 800 000 motorists had registered for e-tags.
“As of yesterday, we have slightly below 800 000 e-tags that have been committed,” said the minister, who visited the South African National Roads Agency (SANRAL) operations centre in Midrand to monitor the first day of the system going live.
“I would like to encourage citizens, particularly the users of the e-tolled roads in Gauteng to cooperate with [SANRAL] so that it can continue to deliver world class roads. Your cooperation can be demonstrated by getting registered, getting tagged and paying your toll fees,” said Peters.
She said the actual expected monthly tariffs payable by individual users had been overestimated by critics of the project.
About 83 percent of light motor vehicle drivers will not pay more than R100 per month and 0.59 percent of motorists in the same vehicle class will reach the maximum cap of R450 per month. - SAnews.gov.za
