Outa questions Sanral’s e-tag success claim
JOBURG - The biggest critic of the e-toll system has questioned Sanral's claim of 1.2 million tags being sold.
The Opposition to Urban Tolling Alliance (Outa) questioned the figures in a research report released by the alliance, which also assesses the viability of the system.
According to the report, the claim made by Sanral does not correlate to the research conducted by the alliance, which indicated that the amount of unique vehicles in use on the tolled highways that are tagged is only 30 percent, while the remaining 70 percent declined to get an e-tag.
The report also questions the viability of the system and whether or not the system is destined to fail, citing an assessment of factors necessary for the success of such a system.
These factors – dubbed the ‘eight critical factors necessary for any Intelligent Transport System’ – include the need for public support for the system to be high, while opposing factors need to be low. Secondly, benefits need to be deemed tangible by the public as this creates confidence in the system.
Furthermore, the environmental benefits and costs must be monitored and the agency charged with implementing the system should have unquestioned legitimacy and authority. Outa maintains that none of these factors are in place with e-tolling.
The alliance has labelled the system as a “solution in search for a problem” and questioned the road agency’s capability to carry out its mandate in this regard.
Outa has been a staunch opponent of the e-toll system, along with various organisations and political parties such as the Democratic Alliance.
Before we accuse Sanral of telling a lie, they
may well have issued 1.2 million e-tags out of their stores, but that does not mean that they are sold. You can buy them at every fish-and-chip shop. So the number of actual tags sold can only be established after a proper stock take of yet unsold tags has been done.
Nevertheless, their statement is misleading.