Drivers oppose e-tolling - survey
2012-06-08 20:10
Johannesburg - More than two-thirds of Gauteng drivers have not or will not buy an e-toll tag, a new survey has revealed.
Released on Friday, the study found that 72% of drivers in the province disagreed with the entire concept of e-tolling.
"The numbers in our survey simply confirm... opposition with the intended non-co-operation of Gauteng drivers," said the researchers.
The survey was conducted by the marketing firm Ipsos before an interdict halting e-tolling temporarily was handed down in May this year.
In a similar poll done last year, 69% of drivers questioned said they would pay e-toll fees, provided that the fees were affordable.
This was prior to the release of the final tariff rates.
In the latest study, almost 64% of the drivers believed the tariffs were unreasonable, even taking into account the discounts for frequency and time of day.
Ipsos said 63% of the drivers wanted the government to find an alternative to e-tolling.
"Support for the system has dwindled to a very large extent. One could speculate this is a result of a few factors, such as the prospect of the system actually being implemented, the bad publicity around the system and the unfortunate miscommunication of the project from its inception."
In a separate statement, SA Road Federation (SARF) came out in support of a mixed approach to finance the country's roads.
Spokesman Malcom Mitchell said about 95% of costs should be financed through general taxes.
Heavily trafficked and expensive roads such as Gauteng's upgraded freeway system should be financed through charging users.
"The public does not object to being billed directly for utility usage, nor for paying a portion of its education and medical costs directly," he said.
"Why then does it object to paying a portion of road costs on the basis of usage?"
- SAPA
