Sydney’s patchwork toll road network could be split into geographic zones under one idea being explored by the state government’s toll road review that could see it pay compensation to a corporate tollway giant.
On Wednesday, the New South Wales government released potential reform options considered by the Treasury and Transport for NSW in 2022 – before it took office – which included introducing tolling on currently untolled roads such as the Anzac Bridge and Western Distributor to create a continuous motorway network.
Another option prepared by the departments for consideration by the previous government included a congestion charge for entering Sydney’s CBD.
The Minns Labor government said it would not pursue these options as they would betray election commitments to not increase the number of toll roads, and on Wednesday, opposition ministers declared they were never considering these two options when in government.
However there are other toll network reform options the government remains open to as part of its review, which is being conducted by former Australian Competition and Consumer Commission chair Alan Fels, to make Sydney’s toll roads fairer and simpler.
A $60 weekly toll cap will come into effect from January and last for two years, and the government is hoping Fels’ review will produce long-term solutions.
The roads minister, John Graham, said he was not in favour of a simple distance-based system that charged drivers cents for each kilometre, as he said this would be a “hammer blow” for residents of western Sydney who rely on driving due to a lack of public transport.
Instead the review would flesh out a previous concept of splitting Sydney’s toll road network into five public transport-style zones, with a large swathe of western Sydney to be the lowest priced zone, medium prices for a large northern, a central and harbour zones, and the highest prices for the eastern zone.
Under this system, pricing would be simplified so any drivers accessing a toll road within a zone would pay the same fee – and the toll burden would be better shared with eastern suburbs residents.
Such a system would help the government achieve its goal of easing the toll burden on western Sydney commuters and doing more to encourage those living near public transport not to drive.
Means-tested and postcode-based tolling relief will also be considered, as will making heavy vehicle access to toll roads cheaper at nights, after data found freight operators were diverting to local roads to avoid the higher tolls.
Across the city, there are 13 roads over 179km with tolled sections and Fels found Sydney was “the most tolled capital city in the world”.
Sydney’s toll roads have several different pricing structures – some charge a fixed fee, others charge for the distance travelled, while for another road, users pay an access fee as well as for the distance travelled.
There are also roads where users are charged differently depending on the time of day or day of the week and some roads only toll users in one direction.
Most of Sydney’s toll roads are run by private operator Transurban as part of an array of long-term agreements which stipulate minimum guaranteed revenue. The government-controlled toll roads – the harbour bridge and harbour tunnel crossings – have some of the cheaper fees across the network.
A heat map of Sydney postcodes that spend the most on road tolls https://t.co/XWTgeN1xdh pic.twitter.com/byWTcEy6Zp
— Elias Visontay (@EliasVisontay) June 14, 2023
The result of various tolling agreements entered into by previous governments has led to what Graham has dubbed “tollmania”, with departmental data finding commuters in Sydney’s western suburbs bearing the brunt.
Data showed that Horsley Park was the most tolled suburb in Sydney in the 2021 financial year, with an average tolling account in the suburb spending $1,917 a year.
Graham said Transurban had indicated publicly and privately they were open to reform, but did not rule out the government may need to pay compensation to the tollway company to implement some reforms such as the zone system.
“We’re not threatening the value of those contracts … but any benefit here has got to be returned to the public,” Graham said.
