- Joined
- Nov 14, 2007
- Messages
- 28,647
- Reaction score
- 10,818
- Bike
- BMW R1200GS
THINK BIKE
SAFETY AWARENESS CAMPAIGN
MEDIA RELEASE
16 August 2011
___________________________________________________________________________________________________
The new toll system denies the contribution of commuting motorcyclists in alleviating congestion on our roads. Commuting motorcyclists use an environmentally friendly, economic, time- and space-saving transport option.
And now, with the tolling of the Gauteng highways, government punishes the commuting motorcyclist for this contribution.
A motorcycle's daily running cost is in the region of 45 cents a kilometre. By adding another 24c toll, this adds more than 50% to this commuter's running cost.
The international trend to reward environmentally friendly transport options seems to have passed our government by. Here you are punished for going greener.
It is hugely disappointing to THINK BIKE that government has not really given much heed to other opinions during its consultation process around the open-road tolling in Gauteng. Submissions from big role-players were mostly ignored and requests for information were met with great resistance. If government had decided to consult with role-players in transport on a more earnest basis, a more universally acceptable model could have resulted from consultation.
THINK BIKE agrees with the decision to exempt public transport from tolling, but we feel that the government has let a golden opportunity pass to encourage commuting by motorcycle by deciding on a toll rate of 24c/km. It could have paired very well with public transport as a more economical mode of transport than private cars.
Motorcycles are more fuel efficient than cars, take up less space on the roads and in parking areas, move better through traffic and can address what we see as the biggest problem in traffic congestion – single-occupant cars.
Tollroads are the bane of the motorcyclist's existence, because they are expected to pay the same rate as the driver of the big SUV towing a huge boat or caravan. Unfortunately the reduced toll for motorcycles on the Gauteng highways (24c/km v 40c/km) is a case of too little, too late. Government could have sent a message encouraging more economical modes of transport such as motorcycling – but chose not to.
Although many motorcycles are used for leisure activities, quite a large number are used by commuters who choose this as a more economical mode of transport.
It is a great pity that government did not see the sense in offering an alternative to the new costs. We acknowledge that huge strides are being made in improving public transport infrastructure with projects such as the Gautrain, but motorcycle commuters will now be forced to have increased travelling costs without a viable cheaper alternative.
In the past, THINK BIKE did engage with the national transport department over issues such as tolling and the possibility of a dedicated biker lane, but nothing came from it. We can only surmise that motorcyclists are not taken seriously and, beyond paying a licence fee, not worthy of any consideration.
Having motorcycles replace single-occupant cars on the highways can increase the maintenance intervals on the roads as motorcycles cause almost no damage to the roads.
We feel it is naïve to think that the tolled highways will reduce congestion. At best, it will move congestion from the highways to secondary routes, which will increase maintenance costs of those routes not designed to carry that kind of traffic. And a new funding model will have to be invented to cover those costs.
THINK BIKE will engage other aggrieved role-players to investigate a way forward to encourage government to re-engage with concerned citizens. All interested parties are welcome to get in touch with us on [email protected].
Issued on behalf of the THINK BIKE Safety Awareness Campaign
Réhann Coetzee
Director
Tel 072 626 3322
[email protected]
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
THINK BIKE is a Section 21 company run entirely by volunteers. The campaign slogan is "Raising awareness, saving lives" and has three main aims to achieve this:
• to increase awareness of motorcycles and bicycles among other road users
• to increase safety awareness among motorcyclists
• to encourage motorcyclists to wear the correct protective gear
For more on motorcycle safety, visit www.thinkbike.co.za
SAFETY AWARENESS CAMPAIGN
MEDIA RELEASE
16 August 2011
___________________________________________________________________________________________________
The new toll system denies the contribution of commuting motorcyclists in alleviating congestion on our roads. Commuting motorcyclists use an environmentally friendly, economic, time- and space-saving transport option.
And now, with the tolling of the Gauteng highways, government punishes the commuting motorcyclist for this contribution.
A motorcycle's daily running cost is in the region of 45 cents a kilometre. By adding another 24c toll, this adds more than 50% to this commuter's running cost.
The international trend to reward environmentally friendly transport options seems to have passed our government by. Here you are punished for going greener.
It is hugely disappointing to THINK BIKE that government has not really given much heed to other opinions during its consultation process around the open-road tolling in Gauteng. Submissions from big role-players were mostly ignored and requests for information were met with great resistance. If government had decided to consult with role-players in transport on a more earnest basis, a more universally acceptable model could have resulted from consultation.
THINK BIKE agrees with the decision to exempt public transport from tolling, but we feel that the government has let a golden opportunity pass to encourage commuting by motorcycle by deciding on a toll rate of 24c/km. It could have paired very well with public transport as a more economical mode of transport than private cars.
Motorcycles are more fuel efficient than cars, take up less space on the roads and in parking areas, move better through traffic and can address what we see as the biggest problem in traffic congestion – single-occupant cars.
Tollroads are the bane of the motorcyclist's existence, because they are expected to pay the same rate as the driver of the big SUV towing a huge boat or caravan. Unfortunately the reduced toll for motorcycles on the Gauteng highways (24c/km v 40c/km) is a case of too little, too late. Government could have sent a message encouraging more economical modes of transport such as motorcycling – but chose not to.
Although many motorcycles are used for leisure activities, quite a large number are used by commuters who choose this as a more economical mode of transport.
It is a great pity that government did not see the sense in offering an alternative to the new costs. We acknowledge that huge strides are being made in improving public transport infrastructure with projects such as the Gautrain, but motorcycle commuters will now be forced to have increased travelling costs without a viable cheaper alternative.
In the past, THINK BIKE did engage with the national transport department over issues such as tolling and the possibility of a dedicated biker lane, but nothing came from it. We can only surmise that motorcyclists are not taken seriously and, beyond paying a licence fee, not worthy of any consideration.
Having motorcycles replace single-occupant cars on the highways can increase the maintenance intervals on the roads as motorcycles cause almost no damage to the roads.
We feel it is naïve to think that the tolled highways will reduce congestion. At best, it will move congestion from the highways to secondary routes, which will increase maintenance costs of those routes not designed to carry that kind of traffic. And a new funding model will have to be invented to cover those costs.
THINK BIKE will engage other aggrieved role-players to investigate a way forward to encourage government to re-engage with concerned citizens. All interested parties are welcome to get in touch with us on [email protected].
Issued on behalf of the THINK BIKE Safety Awareness Campaign
Réhann Coetzee
Director
Tel 072 626 3322
[email protected]
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
THINK BIKE is a Section 21 company run entirely by volunteers. The campaign slogan is "Raising awareness, saving lives" and has three main aims to achieve this:
• to increase awareness of motorcycles and bicycles among other road users
• to increase safety awareness among motorcyclists
• to encourage motorcyclists to wear the correct protective gear
For more on motorcycle safety, visit www.thinkbike.co.za
