Top 1000 biggest toll bills revealed — $107k for one Sydney motorist

One motorist has racked up an astonishing $107,000 in tolls as never-before-released billing data shows how much the toll system is costing drivers – and taxpayers.

One motorist has racked up an astonishing $107,000 in tolls as never-before-released billing data shows how much the toll system is costing drivers – and taxpayers.

The Minns government has released the raw bills of the top 1000 toll road users as it prepares to begin negotiations with toll operator Transurban on creating a fairer system.

The list shows some extraordinarily high bills that Roads Minister John Graham described as “eye-watering in their magnitude”.

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Under the existing scheme, motorists using cars registered for private use can claim a maximum rebate of up to $340 a week for each tag.

A further rebate of up to $802 can also be obtained annually under the old toll relief scheme for motorists who spend more than $402 a week.

However, they have to pay the tolls upfront and then wait until the end of the quarter to claim back the rebate.

The 1000 postcode list shows the raw toll bills without the rebates being applied – and thus what motorists would have to pay if the $60 cap was to be scrapped.

The data also reveals for the first time exactly where the most frequent users of toll roads live, with the list showing the vast majority are coming from Western Sydney, the city’s outer suburbs and some from the Central Coast.

Ellen Myint may not have racked up a $107,000 road toll bill, but she is one of the many motorists still paying the price. Picture: Sam Ruttyn

The highest anyone outside of those areas appears on the list is in 42nd position, where a motorist from Newport in the northern beaches accrued a $25,914 bill.

The Minns governments wants to reform the toll system into a fairer system for Western Sydney motorists.

Whether the so-called $60 cap remains in place – and in what form – is part of the ­review.

The data was drawn from the state government-owned E-Toll provider, which looked at the top 1000 E-tag accounts out of its 1.4 million customers.

The government filtered out accounts linked to businesses, and private account holders with more than three e-tags linked to their account.

An independent toll review found a poorly-functioning patchwork of numerous different price structures will cost motorists $195bn in tolls over the next 35 uears. Picture: Monique Harmer

The number of people paying $10,000-plus toll bills is likely much higher because the data does not include tolls from the privately-owned Linkt.

The data has also revealed the state’s most used toll roads, with WestConnex topping the list, followed by the M7, M5, Sydney Harbour Bridge and Tunnel, and the M2. The total toll bill – without relief applied – is about $2.5 billion a year.

The independent toll review was led by Allan Fels and David Cousins, who found a poorly-functioning patchwork of numerous different price structures will cost motorists $195bn in tolls over the next three and a half decades.

Mr Graham said: “This is the data the former Liberal government would never have shared with the public”.

“The toll bills at the upper end of the scale are eye-watering in their magnitude and only reinforce the pressing need for toll reform in Sydney.

“We have nearly 1000 motorists whose annual spend on tolls is in excess of $10,000, which is a significant impost no matter who you are – but the fact is that the drivers paying these sky-high bills are in our western suburbs or on the Central Coast, where people can least afford it.

“Toll reform is critical and this is a once-in-a- generation chance to address it.”

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Originally published as Top 1000 biggest toll bills revealed — $107k for one Sydney motorist