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Let's be sensible about e-tolling

Fin24 user Carol believes Gautengers need to look out for each other. She has some down-to-earth suggestions to ease the e-toll burden:

The government’s treatment of its citizens - based on the part of the country in which they live - can have a positive impact if it brings these citizens together in a take-care-of-each-other scenario.

Let's decide that first and foremost we are Gautengers, and we need to take care of other Gautengers before we can look at taking care of the rest of the country.

Let’s look at e-tolling objectively.

Firstly, there are the people who will not themselves be paying e-tolls and so will have free access to these roads.

1) Taxi drivers – use the toll roads as much as possible and make it your mission to get your passengers around safely.
When using suburban areas, get the taxi organisation to liaise with the local ratepayers associations to put up a clear sign of where you can stop and stick to them – that will make driving easier for your fellow Gautengers who don’t have the privilege of free e-tolling.
2) Truck drivers – your company will be paying and will be passing on the cost to us all in the way of higher tariffs. Try and drive safely and stay out of the suburbs.
3) Government vehicles – you won’t be paying for your e-toll fees either (however, we will be paying as part of our taxes on your behalf) so please keep your travel to a minimum.
4) Corporate vehicles – will have the same effect as for truck drivers so the same rules apply.
5) Public buses – all the same rules as for taxi drivers.

And then there are the rest of us. It is not compulsory to buy an e-tag, so DON”T. Try to avoid the toll roads at all costs. This will mean more people using the roads in the suburbs, but everyone can do something to make this an easier solution.

1) Pensioners – unless you are on child care duties stay off the roads during rush hour.
2) To all road users – please put celphones in the boot. Driving through the suburbs requires more concentration, so leave the calls until you get to your destination.
3) Avoid school roads at dropping off and picking up times if you are not the person picking up the child.
4) AA: please liaise with local ratepayers' associations to find the safest ways to transverse individual suburbs and communicate this via your website.
5) It is a fairly obvious prediction that we will have problems with robots as a means of frustration to motorists. Be courteous to other road users – we all have the same aim: to stay alive today and return to our families.
6) Cosatu – don’t take your members out on a stayaway. They need their wages the same as everyone else and Gautengers need to stick together.
Rather assist by using any influence that you have with the government to drop this whole system. Ensure that your workers e g taxi drivers and bus drivers are at work every day and that their routes and schedules work on time. This will be of tremendous benefit to all other workers.

Let us not be confrontational with e-tolling but bring it down by making another plan. We could end up with a province that has brought its people closer together, and never forget there is an election next year.

 - Fin24

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Disclaimer: All articles and letters published on MyFin24 have been independently written by members of the Fin24 community. The views of users published on Fin24 are therefore their own and do not necessarily represent those of Fin24.

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