A poll carried out by market research company Ipsos from October 11 to November 21, has found that 38% of Gauteng drivers, or about four in every ten motorists, have already bought or intended to buy an e-toll tag.

Of the 38%, 10%, or one in every ten drivers, said that they strongly agreed with the statement ‘I have bought an e-toll tag already or intend to buy one’, while 28% agreed with the statement.

This figure was significantly higher than the 14% who had in April/May 2012 stated that they had bought, or intended to buy a tag.

Further, 42% of motorists polled indicated that they had not or would not buy an e-toll tag, while 44% disagreed with the entire concept of e-tolling.

“The opposition to e-tolling from various groups, like Opposition to Urban Tolling Alliance, the Congress of South African Trade Unions and others, have made headlines during the last few months.  The findings of this survey confirm that, although more people have bought or intend to buy an e-toll tag than in 2012, opinions in Gauteng province are very much divided,” Ipsos public affairs director Mari Harris said.

“A strong possibility exists that large numbers of drivers in Gauteng will simply not cooperate with the plea from the South African National Roads Agency Limited and the authorities to buy e-tags.”

When asked whether government should find an alternative to e-tolling, the majority of drivers in Gauteng (58%) agreed, illustrating the unpopularity of e-tolling, Ipsos said.