Double blow for Mzansi's motorists: Petrol and toll fees to increase next week

Life sure comes at you fast. We were celebrating record petrol price decreases over the festive period, and the dreaded e-tolls system was nearing the end of its contract. However, fast forward a couple of months, and you'll see fuel hikes are back and toll fees are increasing on a national scale.

On average, all gates e-tolls included are now looking to charge compliant road users just under 5% more starting from next month. The fee hikes were published in the Government Gazette at the start of February, confirming that all pay stations on our highways are set to incur the rise.

Petrol price, toll hikes set for March That means the N1, N2, N3 and N4 are all subject to new fares, which will come into effect from Friday 1 March. If you thought that was a kick in the teeth, just wait until you find out what next month's projected petrol price will be

Recent estimates suggest 75-cents-per-litre will be added on to your fuel bill, whether you fill up with unleaded or premium. Then you only have to wait another month for the dreaded fuel tax hike to come into play, which is said to add another 30-cents-per-litre onto the levy.

The AA are far from happy with these developments. The automotive experts are concerned that this double-whammy of increases will hit our poorest citizens harder than anyone else and expressed concerns about the added strain which will be faced by job-seekers.

Consumers who are already struggling to make ends meet in our fragile economy will be even more hard-pressed now with the result that many may be forced to make decisions on whether to continue paying for tolls.

It also makes it harder for job seekers to find work because only a few have the resources to pay current transport costs, let alone increased fees. This, in particular, is worrying given the country's high unemployment rate.

AA How much the new fees will cost you It will now cost R43 more to drive from Soweto to Pretoria, according to the AA they've added up the relevant toll fees and petrol costs for a round trip, and estimate it'll set motorists back by an eye-watering R864.40.

Meanwhile, Sanral published the full list of new prices which will be implemented from Friday onwards. If you are planning a journey on one of our main highways, make sure you've got a bit of extra cash on you. Which we know is a hard ask, given the way our fuel costs are heading.

Toll fees: What motorists will be paying from Friday 1 March 2019 (Fares for e-tolls only can be found here)

Photo: Sanral / TSA Composite

Grey: Operated by Sanral.

Orange: Operated by Bakwena.

Blue: Operated by N3TC.

Green: Operated by Trac.

Tags: e-tollspetrol pricesroad safetySanralSouth Africa

LINK:	https://www.thesouthafrican.com/toll-fees-south-africa-march-2019-petr...
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