The new annual toll tariffs come into effect on 1 March.
The Carousel Toll Gate on the N1 to Limpopo. (File/: Rosetta Msimango)
New toll tariff fees for 2022 come into effect on 1 March, with major routes now 5% more expensive.
Toll fees are among South Africa’s silent subsidies, which will see the SA National Roads Agency (Sanral) claim R17 billion directly from consumers over the next three years.
The increase will take the country’s most expensive mainline toll, Machadodorp Toll Plaza in the Nkangala District of Mpumalanga, to R104, up from R99 in 2021.
But not all tolls increase; the cheapest toll on the N4 highway, Quagga Plaza, remains at R5.00.
The full breakdown of tolls per plaza are available in the Government Gazette 45902, which was published earlier in February.
Here is how much you will now pay for each of SA’s biggest toll routes for a passenger vehicle.
Johannesburg to Durban: R286.50
The most expensive toll gate on this route from Joburg to Durban is the Tugela Plaza located between Harrismith and Ladysmith, up R4 to R82.
If you’re looking to ditch all of the toll fees and don’t mind a longer journey, an alternative route suggested by Google Maps bypasses all the tolls – but means you’ll be on the road for an hour more. Taking this route does mean that you will, for the majority of your journey, drive on the N3, leaving it to bypass toll gates.
Johannesburg to Cape Town: R205.50
A trip between SA’s two major commercial metros should take between 15 and 16 hours, alongside what may be the most varied and scenic of SA’s toll roads.
The most expensive toll on this route from Johannesburg through Bloemfontein is the Vaal Toll Plaza, at R74.50.
Trying to avoid the tolls on this route entirely is not advised. But you can save R138.50 by taking the route that passes through Kimberley rather than Bloemfontein, paying only for tolls at the Grasmere Toll Plaza in Gauteng and Huguenot toll in the Western Cape, and adding some distance to your trip.
Johannesburg to Polokwane: R191
The journey to Polokwane may be the cheaper than the long hauls from Joburg to the big coastal cities, but can come with eTolls under the Gauteng Freeway Improvement system. That will add R13.29 to the trip if you don’t skip the freeway – and put the cost at R204.29, just barely shy of the cost to drive to Cape Town.
The 318 km drive should take you just over three hours. To avoid tolls you can do things such as add 50km and go through Lebowakgomo using the R516 and R33 to join the N11.
Johannesburg to Pretoria: R13.50, or alternatively R16.67
Gauteng has a total of 47 open toll gantries. The route from Johannesburg to Pretoria requires motorists to go through six gantries, which will cost R13.50 via the N1 or R16.67 via Bedfordview, if you go past OR Tambo – and drive an additional 14km.
The most expensive toll of the two is the Letata gantry between Tembisa and Midrand on the R21.