The adjustments are made on an annual basis to keep the toll tariffs aligned with inflation rates. 

The South African National Road Agency (SOC) Limited (SANRAL) will be implementing the 2019 national roads Toll Tariff Adjustments in line with the Consumer Price Index (CPI), as determined by the Ministry of Transport. 

The adjustment will come into effect on 1 March 2019 for the 2019/20 tax year. This has been gazetted on 1 February 2019. 

Adjustments to the tariffs are in accordance with the CPI over the proceeding 12 months which has been calculated as 4,583%. 

Affected roads 

The newly adjusted tariffs will apply on the N3 toll road between Johannesburg and Durban, on the N4 between the Mozambican border and the Botswana border as on the toll sections of the N1, N2, N17, N12, R30 and R21. 

The adjusted toll tariffs will also be applicable to the GFIP toll roads. The CPI adjustments will also affect the monthly caps applicable to the GFIP toll roads. 

The monthly toll for compliant users of Class A2 vehicles have been adjusted from R273 per month to R276 per month.  

Discounts offered at specific toll plazas for frequent users, as well as qualifying local users still apply. Application for discounts can be made at the toll plaza offices. 

The Swartruggens Plaza on the N4 has not been included as it will be addressed separately. 

Why adjustments? 

The adjustments are made on an annual basis to keep the toll tariffs aligned with inflation rates. 

The effect of inflation means that every rand buys a smaller percentage of a good or service. As the average inflation rate is used to decide the adjustment, this means that there is no increase in real terms. 

Toll monies are used cautiously, only to maintain and improve toll roads. Toll roads are built at no cost to the fiscus – the concept of toll roads is to apply a user charge only to those who benefit from the use of the road. 

The Department of Transport, through SANRAL, uses tolling selectively.  

Only 2 952km of the 22 214km network that SANRAL is responsible for constitute toll roads. 

Toll roads are a prime example of a public-private partnership which makes capital available up front for important and expensive infrastructure projects. It also allows for the continued maintenance not done at taxpayer’s expense.  

Roads that are not regularly maintained will require repairs. The cost of major reconstruction can be up to 18 times higher than it would have been if routine preventative maintenance was undertaken.