South African National Roads Agency (Sanral) has announced the implementation of the e-tag system, originally used in Gauteng, at toll plazas nationwide.
“We want to use this technology at the very toll system that we [presently] have. There is a rollout programme within the existing programme,” Sanral project manager Alex van Niekerk told TechCentral.
However, Transport Department spokesman Tiyani Rikhotso stated that there has been no confirmation by provincial government on these e-tolling advances.
Commenting on the rollout, Van Niekerk said the activation of the e-tag system in Gauteng does not demand the construction of frameworks on all highways.
However, e-tagging’s benefits both traffic and motorists as no stopping or physical cash payments are required. Bakwena Toll Plaza on the N4 between Gauteng and the north and north-western parts of the country is currently serving 10,000 motorists.
The operation of the system, which is run by pictures taken by gantries that read the e-tags, measure their length, width and height, Van Niekerk explained.
The information is sent directly by fibre to the transaction clearing house where the database compares it with the information on the system. This connects to the associated account, which is then charged. the invoices are sent out within 15 days in the case of accounts in debt of registered users.
Information is classified as highly confidential.
The central operations centre has capacity for 450 call centre agents, who will assist the public with account registration or queries between 6a.m. and 10p.m. daily, TechCentral reports.
The centre is connected with the gantries and roadside offices to Sanral’s network via fibre-optic cable.
Although capable of speed measurements, at the moment, traffic trapping functions have not been activated.
