Say "NO" To SANRAL's Gauteng Toll Roads Plan

Online, October 21, 2011 (Newswire.com) - Thousands of South African's have already taken a stand. Join First Car Rental in saying "no" to SANRAL's Gauteng toll roads plan. Join South Africa's car rental companies and thousands of individuals by voicing your opinion by joining campaigns such as the TollfreeGP and No2Toll initiatives to stop the new tolls on Gauteng highways forcing all road users to pay yet another road tax.

What is the new e-tolling system?

• The new e-tolling system consists of 49 gantries on Gauteng highways. The gantries charge people by electronically identifying the number plates of vehicles that drive under them.
• Each time a vehicle passes, a toll is charged.
• The cost is determined by the kilometre distance which the gantry represents.
• The system is controversial. Many criticise it for being very costly (reportedly R14 billion over six years), impossible to implement properly because of its complexity, and a threat to the province's economic wellbeing.

What are e-tags?

• E-tags are small electronic discs that drivers will purchase and install in their cars.
• The discs will have money loaded onto them and will be linked to your account as a debit order or to your credit card. The option will be available to load money onto the e-tag in advance or to have money automatically debited from your account whenever the card is running low.
• E-tags will be available at a Customer Service website and various outlets.
• A 25% discount will be available for those users that register an e-toll tag account and install the e-tag in their vehicle in order for the e-tag to be used as the identifier for the gantries.

How much do toll charges cost?

• The basic toll charge is 40c per kilometre for motorcycles, 66c per kilometre for light motor vehicles (cars) and R1.98 per kilometre for small trucks, charged according to the distance of highway covered by the specific gantry you drive under.
• So, if the gantry you drive under is for a 5-km distance between the one on-ramp and a nearby off-ramp, then you will be charged for passing under that gantry, whether or not you actually used the full 5km it covers.
• Most people will use the highways will pay between R400 and R800 a month.

What can you do to stop the toll roads?

1. Do not register e-tags
- It is important is that we all stand together and do not register e-tags at any point in time.

2. Join an anti-toll campaign like the ones listed below (First Car Rental does not endorse a particular campaign)
• http://www.tollfreegp.co.za/
• http://www.no2toll.co.za

3. Big Business indicates support for no-toll initiatives
- Business groups like JCCI, RFA, SABOA, SATSA, SAIA, AA and RMI are all indicating support for a 'no e-tag' registration campaign.

SAVRALA* UPDATE *South African Vehicle Rental and Leasing Association

At the SAVRALA members' meeting held on October 6, 2011, it was unanimously agreed that given the extent our current concerns, our industry (i.e.: car rental and leasing) will not be registering for e-tags until we again review the status of our concerns when the industry reconvenes for our AGM on Friday, October 28.

SAVRALA key concerns
a. Car rental members required to pay for toll transactions within 7 working days
b. Risk poised to members by the prevalence of cloned number plates and the (current) absence of a defined process to manage these incorrect charges
c. Confirmed process for KAH to pay only for transactions within agreed SLA's (e.g.: 100% of GORT transactions within 2 hours)
d. The various concerns highlighted when we have reviewed the current Terms and Conditions
e. We await publication of the Government Gazette to clearly understand the category definition of vehicles exempted from tolls
f. We await publication of the Government Gazette to better understand how non-payment of tolls will be enforced via both the SANRAL Act and Criminal Procedures Act

Further, although not within the SANRAL mandate, the industry agreed that while we must contribute towards the funding of road improvements; this should be done via the fuel levy as opposed to the high administration costs incurred by implementing the proposed e-tolling system.

Thank you for your participation and let's take a stand together!

Melissa Storey
Executive Head: Strategy, Development & Marketing, First Car Rental