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Robert Chandler, managing director from the South African Institute of Driving Instructors, shares his thoughts on the additional fee which has quietly been added to the Government Gazette. This fee is in addition to the R250 motorists using the online NaTIS system to book online licence slots.
In 2021, there was much debate around the new online booking licence fee which had slipped into the Gazette almost unnoticed. Now, another small fee has been added for online NaTIS users.
In terms of the Road Traffic Management Corporation Act, 1999 (Act No. 20 of 1999), the Minister of Transport has published regulations that, within 30 days of the Government Gazette No. 45738 being published, provides for the Road Traffic Management Corporation (RTMC) to levy a service fee for all online booking applications made via NaTIS for the renewal of a driving licence card. This service fee is set at R22 per application and will come into effect in the middle of February 2022.
Going back to last year (August/September 2021), we had to deal with the minister and the RTMC trying to add charges onto the online booking system for learners and driving licences and other transactions. A justified public outcry ensued.
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The minister and his officials attempted to reassure the public that the service fees included the entire cost, and did not amount to any increase in fee. It merely allowed for the fees to be collected online. However, several discrepancies contradicted these claims and were highlighted. After a public outcry, which various entities began, Minister Mbalula wisely withdrew those draft amendments.
However, he has since published this Gazette that predominantly deals with motor vehicle licencing and registrations. I notice that they have now only included the fees for the online transactions.
Of concern to me is that they have included a fee of R22 for each online booking for a renewal of a driving licence card. At this time, the learner's and driving licence tests are not included. This will obviously be a transaction fee for the RTMC; thus, the application and issue cost must still be paid to the DLTC.
Issues I have are the following:
2. If someone does not want to pay the R22 for the online booking, they have no way of applying for the renewal as the DLTCs refuse to accept people going to the DLTCs without online appointments.
3. All Gauteng and Nelson Mandela Bay motorists must pay this additional R22 to the RTMC effective middle February 2022.
4. If you do not want to pay the fee or use the online booking system, you are forced to travel to another DLTC which is not yet online. This might even require you to travel outside the province you reside in.
5. As the minister repeatedly stated, he will roll this online booking system out to the rest of the country. This will force everyone to book online.
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This is a massive income generator for the RTMC, i.e. approximately 10 million driving licence cards renewed during a five-year term X R22 = R220 million in additional revenue just for the driving licence cards renewals if this gets off the ground.
There are also approximately 500 000 PprDP's (professional driving permits) that require a new card every two years. This will provide for an increase of R11 million per year.
The motoring public needs to be informed. It is time that the Department of Transport prioritises service delivery and refrains from continually looking for ways to milk income from the public.
