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