E-tags now work at some toll plazas

Several toll plazas have switched to automated pay systems to ease festive season traffic.

Johannesburg - Several toll plazas have switched to automated pay systems for road users with electronic tags in an effort to ease festive season traffic, road agency Sanral said on Monday.

“At midnight on December 4 the automated pay system on these existing toll roads became operational. Road users with electronic tags no longer have to stop to pay tolls manually with cash or credit cards,” said Sanral spokesman Vusi Mona. “We have become one of very few countries in the world with a fully inter-operable electronic toll collection system with central transaction clearing.”

Toll plazas that accept tags:

N1 from Pretoria to Musina

N1 between Johannesburg and Bloemfontein

R30 in Brandfort in the Free State

N17 between Johannesburg and Ermelo

N2 South Coast route in KZN

N3 Mariannhill in KZN.

The automated payment is done automatically through a tag fitted to the vehicle to identify the account holder, debit their toll account with the appropriate toll fees and automatically open the toll boom without the need to stop and pay manually.

However many motorists continue to oppose the e-tolling system.

The controversial e-tolls went live on Gauteng freeways in December 2013, but it followed massive opposition from the public and organisations like Outa, Cosatu and the DA, including a series of court challenges.

Africa News Agency (ANA)