Motorists, especially those in Gauteng, have been hit by a double whammy with e-tolls expected to go live tonight and the price of fuel increasing on Tuesday night.
On Monday, the court threw out an urgent application by the Freedom Front Plus (FF Plus) bid to have the e-tolls scrapped. The matter has since been struck of the court roll. The FF Plus was also ordered to pay the costs of the application.
The Congress of the South African Trade Unions and the Democratic alliance says they will continue to protest against the system.
Gauteng motorists have meanwhile been rushing to venues selling e-tags. About one-million e-tags have already been sold.
Motorists say whilst they do not support paying for using toll roads, they have no choice but to buy e-tags. Some motorists left frustrated because of the arduous process and long queues.
On Tuesday evening, the petrol will be 17 cents a litre more expensive while diesel costs ten cents a litre more. The department of Mineral resources attributes the increase to the volatility in the Rand/dollar exchange rate.
The department says the decrease in prices of the international petroleum products was not substantial enough to offset the effect of the volatile exchange rate on the fuel price.
The Guardian 