Workers who drive to their workplaces face a triple blow to their budgets as petrol crosses R30 a litre, November fuel price hikes loom and Gauteng plans to raise licence disc renewal fees by up to R156.
The Motor Industry Staff Association (MISA) has warned government against imposing further vehicle-related costs on workers who already have nothing left to give.
Petrol price 95-octane breached the R30 mark for the first time this month, reaching R30,25 a litre in Gauteng on 7 October. For workers filling a 40-litre tank, this week’s petrol price hike added R133 to the cost compared to last month.
But relief is not in sight. Current predictions suggest petrol could climb by another R3,20 to R3,35 a litre in November, which would push 95-octane to around R33,60 per litre inland and 93-octane to about R33,04 per litre.
Licence fees set to rise
Meanwhile, the Gauteng Department of Roads and Transport has published draft amendments that could raise the provincial vehicle registration fee by R12 from R228 to R240. The proposed licence disc renewal fee increases range from R24 to R156, depending on vehicle weight.
A typical light car weighing between 1 001kg and 1 250kg would see its annual licence fee rise by R36, from R528 to R564. Heavier vehicles face steeper increases, with cars in the 3 251kg to 3 500kg category facing a R156 hike from R2 484 to R2 640.
If approved, Gauteng will charge the highest licence disc fees in the country for every vehicle under 3 500kg.
RAF fee on the horizon
A further cost may be coming. Transport Minister Barbara Creecy said her department was considering a new fee on licence disc renewals to fund the Road Accident Fund (RAF). The RAF board has since proposed such a fee in its latest annual report.
Motorists with petrol and diesel cars already pay the RAF R2,25 on every litre they buy through the fuel levy. A licence fee on top of that would make them pay twice into the same fund.
“Every one of these fees is presented as small and reasonable, but our members pay all of them, out of the same pay slip, in the same month,” says Martlé Keyter, chief executive officer for operations at MISA.
“A worker who drives to the factory floor or the dealership is not a wealthy motorist. For many families the car is the only way to get to work. Government cannot keep treating it as a bottomless source of revenue.”
Electricity, food and transport costs have outrun household budgets for most of this year. The combination of rising fuel prices and increased licence fees means a worker renewing a typical car licence in Gauteng could pay R169 more this year than last year, before factoring in fuel costs.
“Fix the RAF before asking workers to rescue it,” Keyter adds. “Ordinary workers and their families simply cannot afford another increase.”
MISA has called on the MEC to withhold approval of the proposed fee increases and for Transport Minister Creecy to rule out any RAF fee on licence disc renewals.
The Gauteng licence fee proposal is still subject to public consultation, with the final approved tariff schedule expected to be published in the Provincial Gazette.
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