By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
The national rollout of the new Administrative Adjudication of Road Traffic Offences (AARTO) system has been delayed to 1 July 2026.
The implementation was due to start on December 1.
The postponement comes amid an assessment by the Department of Transport (DOT) of the state of readiness in some of the municipalities that were to form part of the first implementation phase.
In a statement on Monday, the department notes that Transport Minister Barbara Creecy and Deputy Minister Mkhuleko Hlengwa decided to postpone implementation following an assessment of the preparedness of municipalities earmarked for the first phase.
The department identified two main areas requiring further work before the system can go live:
- the completion of training for law enforcement and back-office personnel; and
- the harmonisation of enforcement systems currently used by different municipalities, including securing the necessary funding.
The Aarto Act introduces a demerit points system for traffic violations and seeks to centralise the adjudication of road traffic offences.
It has faced several delays since first being passed in 1998, with national rollout repeatedly postponed amid administrative and constitutional challenges.
The department said it would soon issue a new proclamation setting out revised, staggered implementation dates, confirming 1 July 2026 as the official start date.
It added that the phased rollout approach will remain in place as originally planned.
The original plan was for the rollout to take place in 69 municipalities including Johannesburg, Cape Town and Durban, with more municipalities to join the programme, while the full demerit enforcement programme was set to begin on September 1, 2026.