Travelling across South Africa has gotten tremendously more expensive over the past 10 years not only as a result of rapid fuel price hikes but also a marked increase in toll gate costs.
Following the most recent adjustments at the start of 2024, the country has experienced an average increase of 64% in toll rates between 2014 and today.
Who runs South Africa’s tolls
There are four main concessions in charge of South Africa’s toll roads, three of which are privately owned, comprising:
- Bakwena Platinum Corridor Concessionaire
- N3 Toll Concession (N3TC)
- South African National Roads Agency (Sanral)
- Trans African Concessions (TRAC)
Bakwena is responsible for designing, building, financing, operating, and maintaining approximately 385km of roads on the N1 and N4 freeways – from Pretoria to Bela Bela in Limpopo, and from Pretoria through Rustenburg to the Botswana border.
As its name suggests, the N3TC takes care of 415km of the N3 national road that links the ports of Durban with the economic hub of Johannesburg.
Meanwhile, TRAC manages the section of the N4 between Tshwane in Gauteng and Maputo in Mozambique, known as the Maputo Development Corridor, which stretches for approximately 570km, as per South African Road Concessionaires.
Whatever doesn’t fall under the ambit of the above companies is then relegated to Sanral.
Over the past 10 years, each of these toll operators adjusted the costs of their plazas on an almost annual basis, usually in line with inflation.
However, since Bakwena, N3TC, and TRAC are technically not owned by the government, they are free to adjust their rates as they see fit.
It seems this paid dividends for motorists, as Sanral-owned toll routes saw the highest average increase between 2014 and 2024 between all four concessionaires.
Bakwena raised the mean price of its gantries by 64% over this period, N3TC by 67%, and TRAC by 58% – whereas Sanral’s gates recorded an average hike of 68%.
The below tables show the monumental increases in toll rates in South Africa between 2014 and 2024, depending on the concessionaire:
Bakwena
| Toll | Price 2014 | Price 2024 | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Swartruggens Mainline | R75.00 | R97.00 | +29% |
| Zambesi Ramp | R8.50 | R14.00 | +65% |
| Murrayhill Ramp | R8.50 | R14.00 | +65% |
| Maubane Ramp | R18.50 | R30.50 | +65% |
| Hammanskraal Ramp | R20.00 | R33.00 | +65% |
| Kroondal Ramp | R11.50 | R19.00 | +65% |
| Buffelspoort Ramp | R11.50 | R19.00 | +65% |
| Brits Mainline | R11.50 | R19.00 | +65% |
| Doornpoort Mainline | R11.50 | R19.00 | +65% |
| Walmansthal Ramp | R4.20 | R7.00 | +67% |
| Marikana Mainline | R17.00 | R28.50 | +68% |
| Carousel Mainline | R42.00 | R71.00 | +69% |
| Stormvoel Ramp | R7.00 | R12.00 | +71% |
| Pumulani Mainline | R9.00 | R15.50 | +72% |
N3TC
| Toll | Price 2014 | Price 2024 | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bergville Ramp | R17.00 | R28.00 | +65% |
| Tugela East Ramp | R35.00 | R58.00 | +66% |
| De Hoek Mainline | R38.00 | R63.00 | +66% |
| Mooi Ramp North | R12.00 | R20.00 | +67% |
| Treverton Ramp | R12.00 | R20.00 | +67% |
| Tugela Mainline | R56.00 | R94.00 | +68% |
| Mooi Mainline | R39.00 | R66.00 | +69% |
| Wilge Mainline | R52.00 | R88.00 | +69% |
| Mooi Ramp South | R27.00 | R46.00 | +70% |
Sanral
| Toll | Price 2014 | Price 2024 | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Othongathi Ramp South | R4.50 | R7.00 | +56% |
| Othongathi Ramp North | R4.50 | R7.00 | +56% |
| Gosforth Ramp East | R4.50 | R7.00 | +56% |
| Mtunzini Ramp North | R6.50 | R10.50 | +62% |
| Kranskop Ramp | R9.50 | R15.50 | +63% |
| Gosforth Mainline | R9.50 | R15.50 | +63% |
| Leandra Ramp | R17.00 | R28.00 | +65% |
| Leandra Mainline | R25.00 | R46.50 | +66% |
| Ermelo Mainline | R28.00 | R41.50 | +66% |
| Pelindaba Mainline | R4.50 | R7.50 | +67% |
| Denne Ramp | R7.50 | R12.50 | +67% |
| Nyl Mainline | R44.00 | R73.50 | +67% |
| Vaal Mainline | R50.50 | R84.50 | +67% |
| Trichardt Mainline | R14.00 | R23.50 | +68% |
| Brandfort Mainline | R34.50 | R58.00 | +68% |
| Huguenot Mainline | R30.00 | R50.50 | +68% |
| Umtentweni Ramp | R9.50 | R16.00 | +68% |
| Mtunzini Mainline | R35.00 | R59.00 | +69% |
| Verkeerdevlei Mainline | R43.00 | R72.50 | +69% |
| Tsitsikamma Mainline/Ramp | R40.00 | R67.50 | +69% |
| Mtunzini Ramp South | R29.00 | R49.00 | +69% |
| Gosforth Ramp West | R5.00 | R8.50 | +70% |
| Grasmere Mainline | R15.00 | R25.50 | +70% |
| Kranskop Mainline | R33.50 | R57.00 | +70% |
| Baobab Mainline | R33.50 | R57.00 | +70% |
| Nyl Ramp | R13.50 | R23.00 | +70% |
| Sebetiela Ramp | R13.50 | R23.00 | +70% |
| Oribi Mainline | R22.00 | R37.50 | +70% |
| Othongathi Mainline | R8.50 | R14.50 | +71% |
| Dalpark Mainline | R8.50 | R14.50 | +71% |
| Oribi Ramp North | R12.00 | R20.50 | +71% |
| Capricorn Mainline | R34.50 | R59.00 | +71% |
| Quagga Mainline | R3.50 | R6.00 | +71% |
| Izotsha Ramp | R7.00 | R12.00 | +71% |
| Mariannhill Mainline | R9.00 | R15.50 | +72% |
| Dokodweni Ramp | R14.50 | R25.00 | +72% |
| Mandini Ramp | R5.50 | R9.50 | +73% |
| Grasmere Ramp North | R7.50 | R13.00 | +73% |
| Grasmere Ramp South | R7.50 | R13.00 | +73% |
| Oribi Ramp South | R10.00 | R17.50 | +75% |
| Mvoti Mainline | R10.00 | R17.50 | +75% |
| King Shaka Ramp | R4.50 | R8.00 | +78% |
TRAC
| Toll | Price 2014 | Price 2024 | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cullinan Ramp | R13.00 | R20.00 | +54% |
| Nkomazi Mainline | R57.00 | R89.00 | +56% |
| Diamond Hill Mainline | R30.00 | R47.00 | +57% |
| Machado Mainline | R75.00 | R118.00 | +57% |
| Middelburg Mainline | R50.00 | R79.00 | +58% |
| Donkerhoek Ramp | R10.00 | R16.00 | +60% |
| Valtaki Ramp | R23.00 | R37.00 | +61% |
| Ekandustria Ramp | R18.00 | R29.00 | +61% |
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