5% Toll Tariff Hike in Effect from 1 March, According to Sanral
- A toll tariff hike of 5% will be in effect from 1 March, according to the SA National Roads Agency Limited (Sanral)
- Sanral said the increase is in line with the consumer price index (CPI), which was obtained by Stats SA
- The tariff hike was approved by Transport Minister Fikile Mbalula and gazetted on 11 February
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The SA National Roads Agency Limited (Sanral) announced on Sunday, 21 February that toll tariff increases would be in effect from 1 March. The tariff will increase by 5% in line with the consumer price index (CPI) obtained by Stats SA.
The tariff hike was gazetted on 11 February, according to a statement by Sanral, and was approved by Transport Minister Fikile Mbalula. Sanral confirmed that discounts offered to qualifying and frequent users at specific toll plazas would still apply.
Citizens will be able to apply for discounts at various toll plaza offices across the country.
Source: Getty Images
Times Live reported that car trips from Durban to Johannesburg would cost around R272, Johannesburg to Cape Town via the N1 would cost around R197 and Pretoria to Polokwane would cost a total of around R184.
A report by IOL stated that money from tolls is applied to maintain, operate as well as improve toll roads. The report went on to say that 13% of South Africa's 22 253km network constituted toll roads.
Staying on the topic of tariffs, the High Court ruled that Eskom may recover R10 billion from consumers, allowing the power utility to increase electricity tariffs by 16%. The order allows the state-owned entity to recover costs incurred for the production of power, Eskom explained in a statement.
It allows for tariffs to be hiked from the beginning of April.
Eskom is battling to service R464 billion in debt and has frequently commented that tariffs do not reflect its costs. The utility and National Energy Regulator of South Africa (NERSA) has frequently headed to court over their numerous disputes over the price of electricity.
In other transport news, Briefly.co.za recently reported that Sanral announced that work on upgrades for the N3 will begin soon. Sanral says the N3 upgrade from Westville to Paradise Valley in Durban will have the first network arch bridge in the country. The bridge will reportedly cover the entire N3 without any support piers.
The lack of support piers allows for space to be created for any additional lanes. The estimated cost of the network arch bridge is around R300 million. Transport Minister Fikile Mbalula shared a bridge site plan ahead of the construction. He wrote:
"The N3 upgrade project will improve the capacity of the N3 from the Westville Viaduct to the Paradise Valley Interchange in KwaZulu-Natal. The total length of construction will be a massive 1 666km and will include an innovative arch bridge to span the N3."
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Source: Briefly News
