Johannesburg – Moves are afoot to possibly scrap the use of e-tolls to fund the cost of building highways in the province in the future.
And although the idea has not yet been completely canned, initial indications are that the Gauteng government has heeded the dissatisfaction of motorists.
Gauteng Transport MEC Ismail Vadi told The Sunday Independent this week that they were taking a “second look at the matter”.
“We have had long discussions in the ANC Gauteng and in government. Phase one is done and we are working towards settling the debt. There is still dissatisfaction with the funding model. We are taking a second look at the matter,” said Vadi.
Just over 35 percent of road users who drive through gantries are paying their bills.
According to Transport Minister Dipuo Peters, less than 10 percent of the R543 million invoice that was transferred to the SA National Roads Agency Limited’s violations processing centre was recovered.
Vadi said that while there was a need to expand and upgrade our road infrastructure and expand our road network “for future infrastructure funding, we are looking at what our other options are”.
“E-tolls still remain a valid option but there are also discussions about a provincial fuel levy or a provincial tax or shadow tolling.”
He said the government would not scrap the e-tolls as it still considers them an important infrastructure.
Vadi’s statements come as Sanral’s publicised figures of having sold 1.2 million tags are undergoing independent auditing.
“There will be no review of phase one of the Gauteng Freeway Improvement Project. Those are fantastic highways which have done wonders in easing traffic congestion but for phase two we will look at our options.”
Vadi is the only MEC who was retained in the same portfolio.
It means that things such as the Integrated Transport Master Plan 25 (ITMP25) – one of the brainchildren of his last term as transport MEC – are still on the table.
The ITMP25 is an ambitious 25-year transport plan which proposes a redesign in the public transport system.
In this plan rail will become the most important form of public transport in the long term, followed by the BRT system, then secondary buses and taxis within the municipalities.
“It was formally approved as the policy document of the Department of Transport and now the plan is to break down the 25-year plan into five-year workable units to look at what we focus on in this administration,” said Vadi.
His immediate game changer, as he calls it, is to get public transport on a better footing.
In Joburg the first two phases of the Rea Vaya have already been rolled out. Tshwane is in the construction phase of its A Re Yeng bus system while Ekurhuleni is still lagging behind and has just launched its project.
The first real roll-out in Ekurhuleni will only be evident in 18 to 24 months, said Vadi.
“It is a vast BRT network and it will give us a great footprint in public transport.”
He said the department had learnt many lessons from the first bus rapid transport system in Joburg, which experienced several delays…
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