Road tax proposed to force modal shift

If business is reluctant to make the modal shift from road to rail, perhaps governments should induce them to do so through changes in policy. This would include measures such as hiking road taxes to incentivise road users to use “cheaper” modes of transport. This controversial proposal was made by the Botswana minister of transport and communication, Nonofo Molephi, during a Q&A session at the recent Southern African Railways Association (Sara) conference. Executive director of Sara, Bernard Dzawanda, agreed that governments should support policies that would see a roadto- rail shift and noted that Sara was looking at identifying the types of commodities – such as iron ore, coal and minerals – that were not suitable for road use and gradually shifting those to rail. “But these are medium- to longterm plans,” he told FTW, conceding that rail was not in a position to induce a modal shift until it offered a competitive advantage. Chief executive of Botswana Railways and president of Sara, Dominic Ntwaagae, added: “It’s not that we want to shift the focus from road transport, we rather believe in creating a more equal environment where both modes can compete on their own relative strengths – rail for heavy haul and road for shorter trips that ease congestion on major roads.” “The choice must ultimately lie with the customer and they will make that choice based on a number of variables which include pricing, safety, efficiency,” said Albert Kamhunga, CEO and managing director of Manica Zimbabwe. Chief executive of the Federation of East and Southern African Road Transport Associations (Fesarta), Barney Curtis, told FTW that market forces must continue to prevail otherwise “nobody wins”, adding that while rail may be cheaper, its reliability and transit time works against it. “Also, the double handling favours road as rail cannot offer a door-to-door service in most cases.” Curtis noted that increased road taxes – whether these were implemented by increasing licensing fees or the road transit user charges – would not necessarily result in a modal shift as decisions were based on more than the direct cost. “If a road tax is introduced all that will happen is that costs will be carried over to the consumer. And, as intra-regional trade is being punted at every opportunity, lowering costs is a primary objective,” he said. A logistics operator who preferred not to be named told FTW that rail was king when it was managed correctly but inadequate management and lack of maintenance forced consignors – be they manufacturers, freight forwarders or exporters – to move their goods via road and that it would remain that way until “something changes drastically”.