Toll tariffs to increase from March 1
Travelling on toll roads will cost motorists more from March 1 due to an annual national increase in fees.
MALALANE – From March 1, it will cost Class 1 vehicles R70 to pass through the Nkomazi Toll Plaza and R93 at the Machado Toll Plaza.
The South African National Road Agency (Sanral) will be implementing the 2019 national roads toll tariff adjustments in line with the consumer price index (CPI), as determined by the Ministry of Transport.
The CPI over the proceeding 12 months has been calculated at 4,583 per cent. The effect of inflation means that every rand buys a smaller percentage of goods or services. As the average inflation rate is used to decide the adjustment, this means that there is no increase in real terms, the agency said in a statement.
The newly adjusted tariffs will apply on the N4 between the Mozambican border, the N3 toll road between Johannesburg and Durban, as well as on the toll sections of the N1, N2, N17, N12, R30 and R21.
Click here to find all the new rates.
The adjusted toll tariffs will also be applicable to the Gauteng Freeway Improvement Project (GFIP) toll roads. The CPI adjustments will also affect the monthly caps applicable to the GFIP toll roads.
The monthly toll for compliant users of Class A2 vehicles has been adjusted from R273 per month to R276 per month. Discounts offered at specific toll plazas for frequent users, as well as qualifying local users, still apply.
Applications for discounts can be made at the toll plaza offices. The Swartruggens Plaza on the N4 has not been included, as it will be addressed separately.
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Sanral says the adjustments are made on an annual basis to keep the toll tariffs aligned with inflation rates. Toll monies are used cautiously, only to maintain and improve toll roads. Toll roads are built at no cost to the fiscus – the concept of toll roads is to apply a user charge only to those who benefit from the use of the road.
The Department of Transport, through its agency Sanral, uses tolling selectively.
Only 2 952 kilometres of the 22 214-kilometre network that Sanral is responsible for constitute toll roads.
It said toll roads are a prime example of a public-private partnership which makes capital available up front for important and expensive infrastructure projects. It also allows for the continued maintenance not done at taxpayer’s expense. Roads that are not regularly maintained will require repairs. The cost of major reconstruction can be up to 18 times higher than it would have been if routine preventative maintenance was undertaken.
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