E-tolling test phase begins

Despite threats of court action to prevent the April 30 introduction of e-tolling, the South African National Roads Agency Limited (Sanral) launched large-scale live testing of Gauteng e-toll transactions for e-tag account-holders last Thursday (April 5). Registered road users should be hearing their e-tags beeping as they pass underneath toll gantries on the Gauteng e-road network. The test is being run in phases, which means not all toll gantries have been switched on simultaneously. During this test phase, no funds are being deducted from road users’ accounts. A single beep is produced by the e-tag as an indication that e-toll transactions for that particular user are being successfully processed. Road users who hear more than one beep or no beep at all from the e-tag when passing under a gantry should contact the e-toll call centre or visit an e-toll customer service outlet as this could be an indication of a problem with their e-toll accounts or the fitment of the e-tag. The same e-tag beeping sequences should be happening on the Bakwena toll road north of Pretoria. The beeping on the Bakwena toll road is also part of this test phase. When tolling begins on April 30, three types of beeping will be produced by the e-tag. The first is the single beep that indicates that the transaction has been successful. The second is a double beep that alerts the road user that the funds in their e-toll account are low and need to be topped up. The e-tag will also give off four beeps or no beep at all when a transaction is not successful. In such cases the road user needs to contact the e-toll call centre or visit an e-toll customer service centre for assistance. Sanral has however confirmed that while the e-tag entitles road users to various discounts on toll tariffs, it is not compulsory. The registration procedure is available on the Sanral website, and users are not required to provide their banking details, Sanral said. There are many payment options, including cash or electronic funds transfer (EFT), which the user may choose to set up the e-toll account.