Sacob predicts dire consequences for transport industry Leonard Neill THE GAUTENG transport authority is considering delaying until mid-July its proposed ban on heavy trucks using freeways in the province during peak hours. The South African Chamber of Business (Sacob) has repeatedly asserted that the ban will be detrimental to the economy and have dire consequences for the transport industry. Transport and Public Works MEC Khabisi Mosunkutu said at a meeting with Sacob last week that details of which routes would be affected and what truck loads would be allowed to move when the ban was in place were still to be finalised. This information will be released before implementation of the restrictions, he said. Sacob officials believe that the provincial government has left it too late to notify transport operators or to erect the necessary signage on freeways before the regulations come into effect. If they go ahead with these plans, there will be a negative impact on business, says Andre Heydenrych, Sacob's transport committee chairman. "In fact, the possible banning of trucks on Gauteng freeways at peak times will have a devastating effect on the economy. "Sacob is sympathetic to the existing congestion problem on major freeways and provincial roads, but restrictions of this nature can lead to an increase in prices of all products to cover the extra costs incurred by the transport industry," he said. At the same time it was argued that trucks did not cause congestion during peak hours because during these periods traffic flows at a speed which heavy vehicles can easily maintain. "It is not the intention to ban trucks completely, but rather to impose restrictions at certain times on certain roads," says Mosunkutu. "It is part of our multi-pronged strategy to address congestion problems. "Restrictions will be accompanied with optimising flows at intersections, maintaining and synchronising traffic lights and policing the overloading of trucks."
