South Africans Are Falling Back in Love with E-Tags After E-Toll Shutdown

For years, the little plastic e-tag on your windscreen was a symbol of Gauteng’s unpopular e-toll system, something many motorists swore they’d never use again. But fast-forward to 2025, and those same tags are making a big comeback.

According to the South African National Roads Agency (Sanral), active e-tags now number a staggering 1.8 million nationwide, with record sign-ups in recent months.

A Turnaround Nobody Saw Coming

In the dark days of e-tolls, these tags were practically boycotted. A widespread civil disobedience campaign and ballooning unpaid bills eventually forced the system to shut down in April 2024. At the time, few predicted a revival.

But once e-tags were disconnected from e-toll billing, something shifted. Suddenly, they weren’t seen as a way for the government to sneakily deduct road fees, but as a convenient, contactless payment tool at toll plazas across the country.

In fact, the three months following the shutdown saw a 34% jump in new activations compared to the year before. By July 2025, monthly sign-ups had reached 30,000, more than double the average from 2022 and 2023.

Why Drivers Are Warming Up to E-Tags Again

Today, e-tags are supported on all major toll routes, including the N1, N2, N3, and N4 highways. For anyone who travels long distances, they’re a game changer: no fumbling for cash, no waiting for card machines, just a smooth glide through the boom gates.

Some plazas even have dedicated lanes for e-tag users, and Sanral says more could be added if uptake continues to grow. The more tags in use, the quicker traffic flows during peak holiday rushes.

Business fleet operators have also been quick to re-adopt the technology, cutting down queue times for trucks and company vehicles.

The Numbers Tell the Story

Sanral’s data paints a clear picture of the rebound:

• Under 10,000 new activations per month in 2022

• Around 12,000 in 2023 and early 2024

• 17,500 in July 2024, shortly after the e-toll shutdown

• 25,000 in November 2024, double the number from the same month the year before

• 30,000 in July 2025, a new record

Almost 140,000 tags have been issued in just the past six months.

A Quiet but Important Shift in Road Travel

For many South Africans, the e-tag revival isn’t just about convenience, it’s about reclaiming a piece of infrastructure that was once a source of anger and frustration. Now that the political baggage is gone, the tech is being used for what it was always meant to do: make travel easier.

As one Johannesburg driver quipped on social media, “Funny how I hated this little tag for years, and now I’m telling my friends to get one. Feels like we’ve made peace.”

If the upward trend continues, we could be looking at a future where e-tag lanes dominate South Africa’s toll plazas, making holiday traffic jams just a little more bearable.

{Source: Top Auto}

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