Relief may finally be approaching for frustrated residents of the Moot, Pretoria North, and Doornpoort, as SANRAL awaits the outcome of a special Bakwena board meeting scheduled for the week of 24 November.

After months of mounting public anger over a delay in answering requests for discounts at the Stormvoël, Sefako Makgatho, and Doornpoort toll plazas, residents can now cautiously take notice that discounted toll fees or operational improvements will soon be discussed at board level.

The cost of tolls remains at the centre of the community’s anger.

Many Moot and Pretoria North residents say they are unfairly burdened by daily toll fees simply to enter their own neighbourhoods, and that the alternative routes suggested by SANRAL are unsafe or impractical.

In response, Sanral spokesperson Lwando Mahlasela emphasised that local access roads fall under municipal responsibility.

“Alternative routes are not a SANRAL responsibility,” he says. “Primary access routes to communities must be addressed with local government as part of their integrated development planning obligations.”

Mahlasela confirmed that SANRAL has heard the community’s concerns.

“SANRAL and Bakwena have been engaging over the last few months to review possible mechanisms to implement a discount to road users who need to access suburbs in the Moot, Pretoria North and Doornpoort.”

He adds that SANRAL has formally written to Bakwena, proposing a structure that fits within the concession contract’s legal framework.

The timing may prove crucial.

Mahlasela said SANRAL is now waiting for a response from Bakwena, pending a special Bakwena Board meeting scheduled for the week starting 24 November.

With new tariffs expected in March 2026, he says SANRAL’s intention is to finalise this process before the next toll tariff is published in the Government Gazette.

In the meantime, SANRAL’s national rollout of tap-and-go continues, with all self-managed plazas expected to support the system from December 1.

Mahlasela noted that this system faces the same delays as those currently seen on the Bakwena route.

“Motorists are urged to move to the SANRAL tag to help alleviate congestion during the festive period,” he says. “Tags remain the most convenient option for toll payments.”

Complaints have poured into Rekord from motorists stuck in queues the past few weeks at the toll gates stretching for hundreds of metres.

Many say the new tap-and-go payment system, introduced as a supposedly faster alternative, has instead slowed traffic to a crawl.

“It has become a daily punishment just to get to work,” one Moot driver told Rekord.

Mahlasela acknowledged the frustration, but explains that the delays are not due to malfunctioning equipment, but rather new banking regulations.

“To comply with the updated Payment Association of South Africa’s regulations, Bakwena has transitioned from the previous offline card system to a new online card payment system,” Mahlasela said.

“This system requires immediate payment verification with the banks through direct communication between the tap-and-go reader and the financial institution.”

According to him, this verification step is unavoidable.

“The system is functioning efficiently,” he stresses, “but the delay to clear each individual transaction directly with the bank is contributing to slower processing in the lanes.”

Mahlasela said SANRAL and Bakwena are ‘continuously working with the banks to reduce transaction time’ and improving communication links to the tollplazas to ease congestion.

As queues continue to grow, residents have questioned why fast, reliable payment options are not available for everyone, including motorists without contactless cards or smartphones.

Mahlasela once again said SANRAL strongly encourages commuters to make use of the tag system, which offers the smoothest flow of traffic.

“Dedicated tag lanes can process up to four times more vehicles than the normal manual lane,” he explained. “We urge users to ensure their accounts are topped up to guarantee free-flow travel. It is only by working together that we can improve convenience.”

For those unable to use tag or tap-to-pay, Mahlasela confirmed that ‘cash remains available as a payment method’ and added that SANRAL’s mobility account provides ‘a convenient way to manage your tag and toll spend, with deposits ring-fenced for future toll payments’.

Beyond payment delays, motorists have also taken issue with a broken pivot at the Doornpoort plaza, which caused severe congestion for more than a week.

Many assumed it was a mechanical failure, but Mahlasela clarifies that the incident was caused by a crash.

“This was not a failure,” he says. “The pivot was significantly damaged by a vehicle crash on the evening of November 8. While spares are kept on site for routine maintenance, the damage was too severe and sections had to be removed and sent for repair.”

Bakwena has confirmed to SANRAL that urgent repairs were initiated and the pivot would be restored by November 21.

Frustrated residents have also questioned SANRAL on how much of the toll revenue is reinvested into improving infrastructure and operations.

Mahlasela responded that ‘detailed information can be requested by any party using Bakwena’s PAIA process, as the N1/N4 toll route operates under a public-private partnership’.

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