All drivers should be forced to pay for the damage their vehicles cause to roads and bridges based on the weight of their vehicles, an inquiry has heard, rather than singling out those who own electric cars.
Broadening the scope of the NSW government's proposed road user charge could help it avoid a legal challenge like one that overturned a similar fee in Victoria, experts say, but it could also unfairly penalise petrol and diesel vehicle owners.
The proposal was one of several raised at the first hearing of a NSW inquiry into road user charges on Wednesday, which also heard calls to delay a tax for up to a decade.
The NSW government planned to introduce a road-user charge to electric and hybrid plug-in electric vehicles in July 2027, charging drivers more than two cents for every kilometre they travelled.
