Cape Town - Residents and business owners have lashed out at tolling plans in the Winelands, saying it will cut them off from the city centre and the Southern Suburbs, turning the commute to Cape Town into an unreasonable financial burden.
This was after it was revealed in its proposal for tolls on the N1 and N2 that the SA National Roads Agency Limited planned to charge up to 84.59c/km to use the roads - almost triple the e-toll tariffs in Gauteng.
“It’s just crazy,” said Somerset West resident Barbara Segalla on Tuesday.
The toll roads, which will be on the N1 and N2, straddling the R300, will impose a huge tax on road users travelling from the Helderberg area.
Residents in Kraaifontein, Khayelitsha and Mitchells Plain are just some of the others who will be affected by the introduction of the tolls.
Segalla said motorists commuting from Somerset West to Cape Town would stand to lose a fortune, especially if they worked in the city centre.
“For a lot of the residents here, who are largely pensioners, it won’t have too much of an impact,” she explained. “You might find that those who would go out to the theatre or restaurants in Cape Town are less likely to do so.”
The hefty costs were among the details that had been closely guarded by a Western Cape High Court ruling which stated that all papers dealing with the matter should remain confidential. But the Supreme Court of Appeal in Bloemfontein set aside this order on Monday and now everything is out in the open.
HITTING THE POOREST OF THE POOR
Cape Town mayoral committee member for transport Brett Herron said that, based on the documents the agency had submitted, it was clear the board had not considered the impact of the proposed Winelands toll roads on users.
On the Cape Argus Facebook page, Tessa Paulsen wrote that the tolls “hit the poorest of the poor”. As a resident of Mitchells Plain, she was furious that she would now have to pay a tax to visit the city.
For business owners, such as courier companies, the tolls have even bigger implications. The Cape Chamber of Commerce has warned agricultural export prices will balloon as transport companies shoulder the extra costs of the new tolls.
Charmaine Parcel Express chief executive Jan van der Merwe said they mostly tried to avoid the major highways, but the tolls would see their drivers circumventing them at all costs.
He said his courier company, based in Kraaifontein, could not afford the extra cost of tolls for his 10 drivers if they were to use the N1 or N2.
“The thing is you don’t have to use these highways. Using access roads and residential roads, we are mostly able to avoid the traffic.”
Agri Wes-Cape chief executive Carl Opperman said the direct increase to transport costs would diminish the financial viability of individual farmers.
He said even a conservative toll fare could cost the average producer more than R4.2 million extra per year.
“Any additional costs to producers, who are already under pressure, is not acceptable. Over the past few years the sector has had to deal with a substantial increase in the minimum wage. Add to this increased fuel prices and electricity costs, and toll gate expenses may lead to job losses within Western Cape agriculture since the producer will have to absorb the additional expenses yet again.”
Cape Argus