The Civil Engineering Contractor June 2018 | Page 42

BUSINESS INTELLIGENCE
Cosatu branches used the iniquitous e-Tolls as a forum to march, calling for better transportation for workers.
present, where the modern car has
an average consumption of <6ℓ per
100km.
“If you base your future income purely
on fuel sold, you run the risk of major
miscalculations when determining
revenue generation,” Kannemeyer
points out. “Car registrations with
eNATIS have climbed by 40% over
the past 10 years, while fuel sales
have declined by 0.4% over the same
period. Which shows the impact of
technology,” he adds.
As technology makes engines
cleaner-burning, in the case of hybrids,
even less fuel is used. Also, the trend
towards entirely non-fuel-dependent
transport in the form of electric cars
will do away with collecting the levy
completely; yet, these vehicles will all
still need to use the roads, but how
will revenue be generated, based on
fuel sales?
Kannemeyer explains that the
contribution from an old car towards
the fuel levy, at the present rate of
R3.15 per litre, is roughly R31.50 per
100km travelled. Whereas a modern
car that uses half of that fuel, pays
half the amount towards the levy.
40 - CEC June 2018
“For a road to be selected
as a concession, you need
to have roads with relatively
high traffic volume to ensure
an acceptable toll, while still
being financially viable.”
“The modern car still causes the same
amount of road wear and uses the
same amount of road space — while
an electric car pays nothing,” he muses.
There are benefits to using a toll
road and some of these include lower
vehicle maintenance through travelling
on a high-quality road surface, travel-
time saving, and accident avoidance.
Also, you know that there is little
likelihood of encountering a pothole
or a section of deteriorated road while
on your journey.
Toll roads will always be cheaper
than using alternative routes through
suburbs, idling at traffic lights, and
contributing to congestion. It was for
this reason that Gauteng, the epicentre
of industry in South Africa, was chosen
for the first e-toll in the country.
The present climate, however, around
the Gauteng Freeway Improvement
Project e-tolls has made it very
difficult to roll out other concessions,
Kannemeyer says. “Even those roads
that we have identified, that would
have worked 10–15 years ago, under
the current political climate, there is
no appetite for new toll roads. There
needs to be a new white paper on how
roads are to be funded,” he comments.
In conclusion
Joe Citizen continues to feel ‘burnt’
by what it sees as the heavy-handed
implementation of the system, which
took place during (in retrospect) what
could be considered the country’s
darkest days since the present
government came into power, with
graft and corruption going unheeded
and unresolved.
Then, there is the spectre of having
licence renewals withheld for unpaid
fines, with amendments being sought
in a bill to change the AARTO Act.
Nevertheless, something must be
done to fund our road infrastructure if
we are to be (remain?) competitive on
the African continent. nn