RFA disputes rail’s unfair advantage

LACK OF government funding in road
infrastructure has long been a bug-bear of the
roadfreight industry.
For Gauteng shippers, the issue is of critical
relevance,
“The number of vehicles on our roads is
increasing at a rate of 7% each year,” says
Road Freight Association CEO Sharmini Naidoo,
“meaning that in effect our vehicle population
size will double over ten years. The investment in
roads is not commensurate with this growth,” she
told FTW.
“Government funding for roads in terms of the
Road Infrastructure Framework is
R5.5 billion, versus R19.2 billion on airports,
R16 billion on rail, R7.7 billion for the taxi
recapitalisation programme and R1 billion for air
traffic control.”
She challenges the disproportionately high
expenditure on rail when this mode moves only
20% of the freight transported in the country.
“The trucking industry has experienced
consistent growth for seven years, at a rate of
20% since 2003. In 2006 the market was three
times the size of 2000 and in 2007 it is 3 .6 times
the size,” she told FTW.