RFA now adds its support to e-tolling

09 Nov 2012 - by Liesl Venter

The Road Freight
Association (RFA) has
given its support to
e-tolling on the Gauteng
Freeway Improvement
Project (GFIP).
This follows months of
opposition to the planned
e-tolling of the province’s
freeways, with the
organisation even applying
to join a Constitutional
Court case in an attempt
to stop the lifting of
an interdict against its
implementation. Whilst
this application was denied
and the interdict lifted, the
RFA remained vocal in
its opposition to the fees
and the collection method
chosen for the GFIP
e-tolling.
But, the organisation’s
spokesman Gavin Kelly
told FTW last week, the
decision to now support
e-tolling was not an aboutturn,
but rather based
purely on the current cost
and the introduction of an
independent regulator.
“We still maintain that
the administration cost in
respect of collection and
our internal administration
could have been avoided
if fuel levies were utilised
and earmarked to fund
the upgrades of freeways.
However with escalating
fuel prices, the current
discounted e-toll tariff
structure will have a lesser
cost impact on operators
and ultimately the least
cost impact on CPI and the
man in the street.”
He said the decision to
now support the GFIP did
not equate to a blanket
approval of any other toll
projects.
“Any new project
would require open
and honest access to
any other proposed toll
project so that the impact
on operators and the
economy alike can be
fully ascertained well in
advance.”
The RFA has always
maintained it is not
opposed to paying for new
road infrastructure, but
was rather questioning
the transparency of the
GFIP and the methods
introduced for toll
collection.
Following the first
publication of the proposed
tariffs and operational
details in November
2010, the RFA began to
voice strong opposition
to the proposed tariffs of
the GFIP, as these were
seen to be exorbitantly
high when compared to
other toll routes in the
country. The Association’s
opposition took the form of
a public media campaign
and government lobbying
programme – supported
by an economic impact
assessment study on the
then proposed tariffs.
The association has also
been highly involved in
an inter-ministerial task
team under leadership of
Deputy President Kgalema
Motlanthe, appointed to
investigate the GFIP.
Kelly said they believed
that sufficient inroads
had been made and the
fees that had now been
introduced were much
more acceptable.
“The e-tolls are still
a significant cost to
operators who will have no
other option but to use the
toll network as there are no
alternate routes available,”
he said.