Govt departments urged to register vehicles for e-tolls

"Cabinet noted that the public consultation process outlined in the government gazette on the Gauteng Freeway Improvement Project (GFIP) has ended, and calls on all government institutions to register all their vehicles for e-tolling," Minister in the Presidency responsible for Performance Monitoring, Evaluation and Administration, Collins Chabane, told reporters on Thursday at a Post-Cabinet briefing.

In October, the Department of Transport gazetted the toll tariffs and regulations for public comment that will apply to users of the toll road network in Gauteng.

The gazetting of the toll tariffs marked the beginning of a 30-day period for public comment and now that the consultation process has ended, government will consider the views of the public and publish the final tariffs.

Government has proposed that toll fees for e-tag users be capped at R550 a month for light vehicles, adding that monthly toll caps for e-tag registered heavy vehicle users have also been introduced.

The proposed standard toll tariff is 58c/km for light vehicles (class A2), while the e-tag tariff is 30c/km for the same class vehicle.

Class A1 (motor cycles) will pay 18c/km under the e-tag tariff; while the Class B (med heavy) e-tag tariff is 75c/km and Class C (heavy vehicles) e-tag tariff is R1.50/km.

In September, the Constitutional Court opened the way for the GFIP system to be implemented when it set aside a Pretoria High Court ruling made in April that prevented the system from going ahead, pending a judicial review in November.

The country's first multi-lane free-flow toll system using Electronic Toll Collection (ETC) is billed to give road users a smoother and safer journey.