Proposed toll fees will hike operating costs by 9%

Preliminary reports into proposed new toll fees for Gauteng could see operating costs for road freight operators increase by as much as 9%, the Road Freight Association has said. The trucking industry is up in arms over hefty toll fees proposed by the SA National Road Agency (Sanral). Hauliers believe they will place severe pressure on the industry, its customers, consumers and the national economy. Sanral is proposing truckers pay R3.50 per kilometre while light motor vehicles will be charged in the region of 50c per kilometre. With over 40 tolls planned across all of Gauteng’s 185km of freeways, with the first phase starting in April 2011, tolls will be situated on average every 10km apart. According to RFA spokesman Gavin Kelly, the toll fees proposed by Sanral are equivalent to doubling the fuel price. “Ultimately it is the consumer that will bear the brunt, as operators will have no choice but to pass the increased costs on to them. This will place even more pressure on the inflation rate and already struggling consumers. Remember – at least 85% of all goods are transported by road.” According to preliminary research conducted by the RFA, operating costs of road freight operators could increase by as much as 9%, as operators will have to factor in some sort of administration process within the businesses, which will incur an added cost and will be added into the transport cost paid by the customer. “This could lead to already-struggling small enterprises going out of business,” continues Kelly. “Once again the small and micro-sized trucking companies will be most severely affected by the high cost of toll fees. The largest increase in real costs of transport will occur in the smaller category of vehicles (express parcels, door-todoor deliveries, supplying of smaller retailers and short-haul deliveries). These increases range from between 4% and 9% and will jeopardise their operations. Many of them may go out of business as a result of their tariffs being too bitter for customers to swallow.”