Taking its toll The latest toll tariffs add extra pressure to freight transporters already struggling with the economic hardship of the past year. RODNEY WEIDEMANN investigates their impact
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he new toll tariffs for South Africa’s national roads came into effect in March, following Transport Minister Fikile Mbalula’s approval of the South African National Roads Agency (SANRAL) recommendations. While these annual increases are always a source of concern among freight movers – particularly with regard to how such costs might multiply across the business – it’s become more acute after more than a year of extreme economic hardship following multiple pandemic-related lockdowns. Gavin Kelly, CEO of the Road Freight Association (RFA), indicates that routes are tolled based on the wear they experience, and the price per kilometre is based on factors that affect the particular stretches of road. “These factors can include what the road is built on, water ingress, foundations, camber and incline, loads carried, environmental factors and more. Each piece of a tolled route may have a different cost impact based on these factors. Either way though, the roads require continuous monitoring and preventative maintenance – so this increase should be in line with what those costs would be in the foreseeable short term.” Kelly explains that when statutory increases occur, a freight transporter will add those increases to the operational cost structure of the business and pass these on to the customer. After all, he states, the freight
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“The roads require continuous monitoring and preventative maintenance – this increase should be in line with what those costs would be in the foreseeable short term.” – gavin kelly
transporter cannot absorb these costs without there being a negative effect on the sustainability of the business. “The discussion has always been around the quantum of the increases pushed through by government. The RFA, through negotiation with various authorities, has ensured that this quantum should not be more than the current consumer price index increases. Some authorities have held to this, while others have not.”
Frequent user discounts According to SANRAL general manager for communications Vusi Mona, the adjustment was announced as 5 per cent but is, in fact, 3.39 per cent. “It should be noted that toll-fee costs are only one component of the travel cost for road freight. Toll costs for a trip are not only dependent on the origin and destination but on the actual roads used, the toll plazas passed, and the vehicle type used for the freight. “This is because different toll tariffs are applicable to different vehicle types (classes) at different toll plazas. Of course, we do offer discounts at specific toll plazas for qualifying
COSTLY UPGRADES Trans African Concessions communications manager Solange Soares notes that ongoing routine road maintenance, as well as planned rehabilitation and upgrade projects, are undertaken throughout the N4 toll route to ensure that its infrastructure is on par with world-class standards. “This ongoing maintenance includes four major construction projects, namely the R380-million Emalahleni-Middelburg rehabilitation and upgrade, which is 48 per cent complete, with a completion date of March 2022; the R400-million Belfast-Machado rehabilitation and upgrade, which is 61 per cent complete and scheduled for completion in May 2022; the new Karino Interchange, a R390-million project in Mbombela that is 60 per cent complete; and the Kaapmuiden-Kaalrug rehabilitation and upgrade, which is 70 per cent complete and expected to be concluded in August 2021,” she says.
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frequent users, as well as for qualifying local users,” he adds. Trans African Concessions (TRAC), which operates the vital N4 toll route, also offers discounts to frequent and local users who qualify for the concession as per its terms and conditions, according to TRAC communications manager Solange Soares. “The N4 Toll Route was established primarily as an economic development driver to boost trade and investment between landlocked South African provinces and the Port of Maputo. “To date, as the concessionaires of the route, we have met this mandate. We are, after all, aware that should the road ever go into a state of disrepair it would have a severe impact on the transport industry as well as the import/ export industry and numerous others that thrive off this so-called Maputo Corridor.” Kelly agrees about the potential impact, but suggests it may even be worse. “We need to understand that well-maintained roads are an essential part of our efficient road transport network. Should these be left to deteriorate, there would be no alternative for transporting goods by land, since the South African rail network is in a sorry state.”
F R E I G H T, L O G I S T I C S & W A R E H O U S I N G
2021/05/20 9:26 AM
