Toll tariffs on South Africa’s national roads will be adjusted on 1 March 2021.
Transport Minister Fikile Mbalula approved the 2021 toll tariffs as recommended by the South African National Roads Agency SOC Limited (SANRAL). The adjustments were gazetted on 11 February 2021.
The adjustments are adjusted annually in line with the Consumer Price Index (CPI) as obtained from Statistics South Africa (Stats SA). The CPI percentage that was applied to determine the 1 March 2021 tariff adjustment is 5%.
“We use the inflation rate as a guide so that, the toll tariffs remain the same in real terms, meaning there is effectively no increase to the rate from when the initial toll tariff that was implemented,” explains Vusi Mona, SANRAL’s General Manager for Communications.
Discounts offered at specific toll plazas for frequent users, as well as qualifying local users still apply. Application for discounts can be made at the various toll plaza offices nationwide. Through SANRAL, the department of transport uses tolling selectively to implement major road infrastructure projects and ensure seamless mobility of vehicles on the national road network. Only 13% of the 22 253km network constitutes toll roads.
Toll roads allow for the borrowing of capital to develop road infrastructure when it is required, rather than having to wait until funds are available from an already strained fiscus. Toll monies are applied to maintain, operate and improve toll roads, as well as to service debt incurred to implement a toll road project.
The cost in the event of delayed maintenance on roads can be up to 18 times higher than it would have been if routine preventative maintenance was undertaken. Tolls are user charge and are paid only by those that make use of the road.
For details on the applicable tariffs, please refer to the Government Gazette, volume 668, number 44146, published on Thursday 11 February 2021.
