Skip to main content

E-tolling for South Africa’s Gauteng Freeway improvement project

Following a series of consultations with stakeholders, South Africa’s Inter-Ministerial Committee on the Gauteng Freeway Improvement Project (GFIP), led by Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe, Cabinet, has recommended that the South African National Roads Agency Limited (Sanral) should proceed with the implementation of an e-tolling system.
October 29, 2012 Read time: 2 mins
Following a series of consultations with stakeholders, South Africa’s Inter-Ministerial Committee on the Gauteng Freeway Improvement Project (GFIP), led by Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe, Cabinet, has recommended that the South African National Roads Agency Limited (2161 SANRAL) should proceed with the implementation of an e-tolling system.

Stakeholders came to the agreement that the tolled roads have improved, and travelling times have been reduced.  Most agreed on the user pay principle and that the e-toll system should be part of a mix of mechanisms employed to address the problem of congestion, as well as to raise funding for the construction and maintenance of freeways.

The project is to be implemented within a broader context of improvements to integrated public transport and improvements to non-toll alternative routes.

Discussions on toll payments, including the use of a fuel levy, came to the conclusion that an e-tag system would provide users with the lowest possible toll fees. The government has proposed that toll fees for e-tag users be capped for light vehicles; monthly toll caps for e-tag registered heavy vehicle users are also introduced.

The government is confident that the Gauteng Freeway Improvement Project is an important contributor to keeping South Africa's economic hub moving.  The country's first multi-lane free-flow toll system using Electronic Toll Collection (ETC) will provide road users with a smoother and safer journey.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Road user charging potential solution to transportation problems
    December 14, 2012
    A number of new and highly significant open road tolling schemes have just been launched or are soon to ‘go live’. Systems of road user charging are flexing their muscles as the means to solve politically sensitive transportation problems, reports Jon Masters. Gothenburg, January 2013, will be the time and place for the launch of the next city congestion charging scheme in Europe. In a separate development, Los Angeles County’s tolled Metro ExpressLanes began operating in November 2012 – the latest in a ser
  • Oregon tests new mileage-base charging scheme
    August 5, 2013
    Jack Opiola from D’Artagnan Consulting LLP explains Oregon’s latest moves which mandated a trial of mileage-based road use charging. In 1919, Oregon made the 20th century’s most significant contribution to transportation funding policy, becoming the first state in America to implement a gas tax to pay for roads. This summer Oregon’s Legislature passed, and Governor John Kitzhaber signed into law, Senate Bill 810 which requires a distance-based road usage charge for 5,000 volunteer vehicles by 1 July 2015. T
  • Toll performance exceeds expectations, improves travel times
    January 30, 2012
    Jean Harito, Attica Tollway Operations Authority and Steve Morello, Egis Projects describe how looking to exceed contractual obligations makes good operational and business sense. The Attica Tollway is a modern, 65km, access-controlled urban motorway with three lanes in each direction. It constitutes the ring road around the extensive metropolitan area of the Greek capital, Athens, and forms the backbone of the entire road network in the Attica region. By ensuring freeflow operating conditions, the Attica T
  • Electronic toll collection delivers efficient traffic regulation
    February 3, 2012
    Electronic tolling systems have been in use for decades now. Worldwide, steadily more and more tolling systems are being set into operation, providing efficient means for traffic regulation and financing of infrastructure. But despite this maturity enforcement is still not being given the consideration it deserves. Q-Free's Steinar Furan writes