Phuti Mosomane and Sapa

Sanral was misleading the public by displaying only one tariff on its sign boards at toll gantries, the DA said on Monday.

"All three tariffs on all classes of vehicles should, and must, be displayed to the road user," Democratic Alliance MPL Neil Campbell said in a statement.

"I will be referring this failure... to the National Consumer Commission."

The agency put up tariffs on toll boards last week. Campbell said the agency's "incomplete disclosure", by displaying only the discounted rate which applied to registered e-tag users, was a tactic to paint itself in the "best possible light".

"The so-called 'standard' rate which one would assume to be the 'normal' rate has been totally ignored by Sanral, as has the 'alternate' rate which will be charged for non-registered users," he said.

The SA National Roads Agency Limited could not immediately be reached for comment.

The agency gazetted new tariffs recently and described an "alternate user" as someone "who does not have a valid and operational e-tag, is not registered with Sanral, and who is not a day-pass user". Alternate users would be charged R1.75/km, compared to 30c/km for registered users.

Government had contributed R5.75bn to the project so that user toll fees would be lower.

Urban Tolling Alliance, the SA Vehicle Renting and Leasing Association, The Quadpara Association of SA and the SA National Consumer Union has brought the application in order to stop the levying and collection of tolls on certain roads in the Gauteng from going ahead on April 30.

The Congress of SA Trade Unions last week announced it was planning "the mother of all protests" against e-tolling.

The union federation will encourage its two million members to join rallies, marches, demonstrations, and night vigils across the country.

Consumer Commissioner Mamodupi Mohlala reportedly found the terms “excessively one-sided in favour of the supplier and, as such, not in line with the spirit of the Consumer Protection Act”.

She said a clause in the conditions which allowed Sanral to get information from any institution concerning applicants where they had an account, was a gross violation of consumers’ right to privacy.

“There should be some restriction to the kind of information that a service provider may have access to as long as it relates to the nature of the account or to the core business” Mohlala said.

Tolling of 185km of the N1, N3, N12 and R21 around Johannesburg and Tshwane is expected to start on April 30.

phutim@thenewage.co.za