Question to the Minister of Transport - NW2495

14 July 2015 - NW2495

De Freitas, Mr MS to ask the Minister of Transport

(a) What has been the economic impact of the e-toll system on the Gauteng province since its introduction, (b) how was this impact measured and (c) how was the impact on traffic congestion on roads in Gauteng measured and ascertained?

Source
Link

Reply:

(a) I am informed that the overall economic impact was positive. As a result of the additional road capacity, delays on the road network were substantially decreased, and traffic growth of more than 20% in many instances could be accommodated. Improvements in travel speeds/reduced congestion was also confirmed by independent studies (refer to reports from Congestion survey by Tom Tom). Furthermore, the development that took place in the immediate vicinity of upgraded interchanges such as Lynnwood, Atterbury, Garsfontein, John Vorster, Allandale, etc reflects the positive impact the road improvement project had on Gauteng. As was demonstrated in various economic studies, the project renders a high return on investment and a B:C ratio of 8 to 1. The Panel to investigate the social and economic impact of the GFIP made amongst others the following conclusions (the full report is available from the Gauteng Province):

The impact of the GFIP in the GCR economy;

Reduced Travel time benefits:

45 000 hours at morning peak
Average speed increase of 64 km/hr (without GFIP) to 100 km/hr (with GFIP)
Average speed increase on secondary routes from 40km/hr to 48 km/hr

Reduced vehicle operating costs (5% to 20% depending on route and distance)

Reduced fuel consumption
Reduced maintenance costs

Improved logistics efficiencies

Improved travel conditions

Enhanced safety
Rapid response emergency services and prevention of secondary accidents (1 400 / month)

(b)Sees (a) above

(c) SANRAL has various counting stations on the freeway network as well as parallel routes to the freeway network that counts traffic on an ongoing basis. The graphs below provides an indication, based on the situation in 2014, what the impact of the GFIP on traffic speeds on both the freeways and supporting road network was with and without the toll roads as well as before and after the tolling of the freeways commenced.

As can be seen from the graphs below, the conditions on the freeways and alternative roads are substantially better than what it would have been if the GFIP was not implemented, even after toll collection commenced.

Freeways & Alternatives Routes. See Annexure A