Western Cape tolling decision irrational, excessively expensive: OUTA

OUTA chairperson Wayne Duvenage commended the City of Cape Town for "standing their ground" on the matter.

"We have always been convinced that Sanral’s conduct on the Winelands tolling decision, as it was in the Gauteng e-toll matter, was unlawful, irrational and excessively expensive," he said.

Sanral’s bid at the Constitutional Court application came after the Supreme Court of Appeal dismissed its appeal over the right to toll the Winelands route.

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OUTA said it was surprised by Sanral’s decision to appeal the outcomes of previous judgments.

It called the move by Sanral "litigious behaviour and the continuous waste of taxpayers’ money".

It continued: "The tolling of urban road infrastructure is fundamentally wrong, as these are roads the public use for daily commuting and for which they pay taxes."

OUTA further maintained that government should scrap the "failed" Gauteng e-toll system, "which now has extremely low compliance levels of around 20%".

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Sanral said it would abide by Friday’s judgment of the Constitutional Court. The agency said that it would now "continue to engage the City of Cape Town to find a solution to the growing congestion crisis in the Winelands area".

Sanral spokesperson Vusi Mona previously said that discussions were already underway with the city.