Toll relief extended but bumpy road ahead to fund it
Drivers in the world’s highest-paying city are breathing a sigh of relief as the popular discount scheme has been permanently extended.
Hundreds of thousands of motorists were demanding nearly $8 million a month in discounts under NSW Labor’s $60-a-week toll cap plan.
But as the December 31 end date for the two-year plan approaches, the state government confirmed on Tuesday that it will continue indefinitely.
The scheme helps ease household budget pressures, particularly in western Sydney, where motorists bear the brunt of Sydney’s toll road network.
“We want the crossing border to remain permanently. We want privatization to never come back again when it comes to our roads,” Finance Minister Daniel Mookhey told reporters on Tuesday.
The government has said it may consider reintroducing two-way tolling on the Harbor Bridge or Harbor Tunnel to continue funding the rebate scheme’s $200 million annual budget.
“Most people would think that’s pretty reasonable and pretty fair,” Mr Mookhey said.
However, the opposition attacked, declaring that this was a breach of the 2023 election promise that there would be no new toll
“Workers had a choice between reducing waste or new tolls; they chose new tolls and more broken promises,” Liberal leader Mark Speakman said.
The bridge remains a state-owned asset, and tolls start at $2.76 after years of no increases.
This pales in comparison to privately owned motorways such as the M4, where the cost from the city to Parramatta’s second CBD is around $12.
NSW authorities have been in talks with Transurban, which operates all 10 privately owned toll roads in Sydney, to replace the current piecemeal system with a network-wide pricing system.
The remaining three toll roads of the city belong to the state.
Transurban has approximately $13 billion worth of projects to open in the next 12 months; these include widening the M7 motorway in Western Sydney and connecting it to the M12 and the future Western Sydney Airport.
The longest current contract for Sydney’s network of 13 toll roads extends to 2060.
The average Sydney driver spends more than $82 a week on tolls, according to the Australian Automobile Association.
The toll cap hit $140 million in the first 18 months, but tens of millions more went unclaimed.
There were 115 suburbs where average demand was $300 or more, including Parramatta, Lidcombe, Schofields, Westmead, Toongabbie, Merrylands and Auburn.
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