OUTA applauds SANTACO's call for e-toll boycott

Clearly evident is their frustration to receive their e-tags to grant them the promised free passage on the highways. This is just another of many examples pointing to the onerous administration conditions of e-tolling, which adds to the unworkability of this irrational plan.

"There is simply far too much burden in the cumbersome e-toll system which adds to the high costs of administration, making it more irrational than initially envisaged," says Wayne Duvenage, OUTA's chairperson. "SANTACO's call for a boycott of e-tolls last week is the most logical approach for them to take. They would be joining the ranks of well over a million other freeway users who have not purchased e-tags and who have ignored SANRAL's ill-conceived plan"

OUTA's research has proved that e-tolling in this relatively high non-compliant environment, combined with the appalling manner in which SANRAL have gone about their plan, makes a mockery of the user pays principle. In addition, by lowering their sights to a 60% compliance target (which they will be hard pressed to achieve), SANRAL has effectively acknowledged that not all users will pay, a situation they appear to be content with. "Our projections reveal that more users will remain untagged than tagged and that is a formula for disaster for e-tolls," says John Clarke, OUTA's spokesperson.