Sydney Harbour Bridge and Tunnel toll to rise for first time in 14 years
After more than a decade, motorists using the Sydney Harbour Bridge and Tunnel will have to pay more with the Minns government approving a toll increase for motorists.
NSW
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Tolls on the Sydney Harbour Bridge and Tunnel will rise for the first time in more than a decade as the Minns government moves to make the tolling system fairer.
The Saturday Telegraph can reveal the increase – to come into effect at the end of next month – will mean motorists using the Bridge and Tunnel will pay 6.8 per cent more for each trip with the extra cash to go towards paying for the $60 toll cap.
However, the new tolls remain a fraction of what western and southwestern Sydney motorists travelling on motorways to the CBD are charged.
Under the revised tolling regime, motorists using the Bridge or Tunnel from October 29 during peak times will pay $4.27 – up from $4 – while the off-peak toll will go from $3 to $3.20.
Motorists crossing the harbour at night will pay $2.50 – up from $2.
The increase marks the first time the Bridge or Tunnel toll in more than 14 years, and is expected to raise an additional $30 million over four years.
Bridge and Tunnel tolls are required by law to be reviewed annually and the recommended increase must have regard to the recent rate of inflation.
It is understood the former Coalition government was advised regularly by transport officials to raise the harbour tolls, only for that advice to be rejected.
This was despite motorists – predominantly from western Sydney – who used privately-owned toll roads to travel to the CBD being slugged with regular toll hikes as part of motorway contracts.
Roads Minister John Graham said while increases were never welcomed, the fact the Bridge and Tunnel tolls had remain fixed since 2009 when those elsewhere had been going up meant it was appropriate they were adjusted.
It can be revealed the government will direct the extra cash towards paying the $561 million cost of the $60 toll cap it has introduced as part of its election pledge.
“No toll increase is ever welcome, but this increase is helping to provide toll relief to other drivers,” Mr Graham said.
“The NSW Government believes it is appropriate for these tolls to be adjusted higher at a time when we are focused on providing greater equity across the toll road network, no matter what your postcode.
“Drivers in Western Sydney who have little choice but to use motorways for their commute and family travel have endured annual – and in many cases quarterly – toll increases since 2009 while the Bridge and Tunnel tolls remained fixed.”
The increase – made by Ministerial Order under the Roads Act 1993 – comes amid the ongoing independent Toll Review that is being led by Professor Allan Fels, which is looking at how to make the tolling system more equitable for all motorists.
While motorists using the Bridge or Tunnel have enjoyed a fixed charge since 2009, those travelling peak hour from Liverpool or Campbelltown to the CBD and back using the M5 South-West, M5 East and Eastern Distributer have seen tolls rise from $12.60 to $35.54 over the same period.
Those travelling from Blacktown to the CBD and back on the M7, Hills M2, Lane Cove Tunnel and Harbour Bridge have had the total toll bill rise from $12.72 to $34.54.
However, motorists travelling from Neutral Bay to the CBD using the Harbour Bridge have enjoyed paying no more than $4 over that time.
The Parliamentary Budget Office calculated Labor’s $60 toll cap would benefit 51,000 motorists and cost $150 million over a two-year period.
Subsequent detailed modelling undertaken by Treasury and Transport for NSW after Labor came into government showed the cap would actually cost three times as much while benefiting 720,000 motorists.
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