The payment of e-tolls by Gauteng commuters was on the rise, despite accusations by the Opposition to Urban Tolling Alliance to the latter, the South African Roads Agency Limited (Sanral) said on Wednesday.

Sanral CFO Inge Mulder said in a statement that, following the announcement of a panel investigation into the socioeconomic impact of tolling on the province by Gauteng Premier David Makhura last year, the agency saw a steep drop in income from R120-million in June last year to R45-million in January.

However, with the announcement on May 20 that the user-pay principle would remain in place but that the tariffs would be reduced, e-toll cash receipts recovered from R61-million in April to R76-million in May, R78-million in June and R82-million in July, the agency held.

“[This is] clearly an upward trend. It is general knowledge that when the Premier announced the formation of the panel, it caused uncertainty, with an immediate and steep drop in income.

“[But] it is clear that, month-on-month there is an upward trend in payment since the announcement [over the revised tariff system] in May. The facts don’t lie,” Mulder commented.