To e-tag or not to e-tag?
This question has suddenly become very relevant after the Supreme Court of Appeal dismissed the Opposition for Urban Tolling Alliance (Outa)’s appeal against an earlier ruling in favour of the South African National Roads Agency (Sanral).
This clears the way for etolls to start on Gauteng highways before the end of the year.
In an effort to limit risk to their businesses in case the efforts to stop e-tolls fail, members of the South African Vehicle Rental and Leasing Association (Savrala), decided to go ahead and tag, says association president Marc Corcoran.
“We decided as a contingency to install tags, because we would be faced with enormous operational and logistical challenges if we have to implement at short notice, unless we prepare”, he says.
The association is the body at the heart of Outa.
Savrala is still very doubtful about Sanral’s ability to implement e-tolls and wants more detail about the enforcement. Sanral has stated that, in the absence of a working system, in terms of the Administrative Adjudication of Road Traffic Infringements Act (Aarto) motorists who fail to pay their tolls will be prosecuted in terms of the Criminal Procedures Act. “This is a critical element. We want to know what the charges will be and how a docket will be opened,” says Corcoran.
Most of Savrala’s members have signed on the dotted line to start the e-tolls registration process, says Corcoran. The rental companies represent about 55 000 vehicles. Members who do leasing mostly leave the management of e-tolls to their customers.
Corcoran says there is still some concern about the IT operability of the system and it is still not clear how long it will take before key account holders get the billing information.
The 48 hours payment terms and referral for violation processing after seven days are problematic, says Corcoran. In many cases, such as with government clients, Savrala members are only paid after 45-60 days. “As industry we end up financing the e-tolls system.”
Savral is further concerned about Sanral’s ability to deal timeously with large volumes of queries, especially where various parties are involved as in the leasing industry. He is doubtful about the capacity of Sanral to redirect bills to the person who drove the vehicle. Unless toll fees are redirected, Savrala members will in effect act as collecting agents for Sanral. “It is not clear whether redirections will be accepted.”
Eric Cornelius of the South African Bus Operators’ Association (Saboa) says the only members of this organisation that have started the registration process are those who qualify for exemption. Others decided to wait until the pending court cases are concluded.
Rene Venter, owner of Avax-SA, a company that manages traffic fines, licencing and related issues for fleet owners and other motorists, says most of her clients have not registered for e-tolls “and are not planning on registering”.
More on e-tolling
Fight against e-tolls now up to people of Gauteng: DA
E-tolls cannot be undone: Judge
What if you don’t pay e-tolls?
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