NSW tolls: Extra toll roads, congestion tax planned for state, report finds

Dubbed as the most tolled capital city in the world, Sydney’s “spaghetti network” of toll roads is set for a major shake-up.

NSW Labor has promised a major shake-up of Sydney’s toll roads following revelations the former government was considering a potential congestion tax and increasing the state’s toll network.

It’s understood the government has unanimously ruled out both options and will now consider how to make the state’s toll system more equitable and fairer for western Sydney residents who bear the brunt of the city’s toll roads.

Having earnt the unenviable title of the most tolled people in the world, Sydney drivers face 13 toll roads that are calculated at different rates, adding confusion to the complicated process.

Sydney drivers face 13 toll roads. Picture: NCA NewsWire/ Gaye Gerard

Options for reform include network pricing, which would tax all toll roads at a common price, and could include a form of distance-based tolling or a one-off access charge.

Off-peak charges, movement of freight outside peak hours and varied time-of-day pricing will also be considered.

These options will be considered in a tolls review undertaken by former Australian Competition and Consumer Commission chairman Alan Fels and David Cousins.

While tolls reform won’t happen until after Professor Fels’ report is handed down in the middle of next year, NSW Roads Minister John Graham hoped to have measures in place before the $60 toll cap finishes by the end of 2025.

“I’ve really seen this as work we’d have in place prior to the tolls cap finishing. We’d then like to look at where does relief go, where does reform go. This will not be quick work,” he said.

Mr Graham ruled out “simple distance-based tolling” that he said would unfairly tax residents in western Sydney who are subjected to more tolls than those living elsewhere in the city.

Roads Minister John Graham ruled out simple distance-based tolling. Picture: NCA NewsWire/ Gaye Gerard

Potential changes could look at different charges in Sydney’s west, where drivers travel long distances compared with other “zones” where motorists take shorter trips.

“If the only charge is based on how far you travel, it is really a hammer blow to Penrith, Campbelltown or all these sorts of places,” Mr Graham said.

New data released by the government revealed average households pay about $509 annually on tolls, with that figure increasing to $3125 for business accounts.

Account holders in Horsley Park in western Sydney spent the most on tolls across the state, costing drivers an average of $1500 to $2000 a year in newly released data from 2021.

Treasurer Daniel Mookhey also said future tolls assistance would go towards drivers who needed them the most, flagging households living in Sydney’s western fringes.

“Families are living in a city with a sprawling spaghetti network of toll roads that are costing them a fortune. We do want to make sure that public-provided assistance goes to those who need it most,” he said.

“This is an opportunity for us to fix these problems rather than bequeath them to our children and our grandchildren.”

Tolls became a key policy battleground in the March state election, with the Coalition enacting a 40 per cent rebate for motorists who spend more than $375 a year, with a maximum annual benefit of $750 per financial year.

While the relief will end on July 1, 2024, Labor has promised an additional $60 weekly toll cap, which is slated to come into effect next year.