The NSW transport minister has defended the government’s decision to increase tolls on the Sydney Harbour Bridge by 3.2 per cent while motorists face ongoing disruptions caused by the Warringah Freeway upgrades.
From July 1, motorists will pay $4.41 for southbound trips in peak periods, an increase of 14¢. The off-peak day rate will increase by 10¢ to $3.30, and evenings will cost $2.76, an increase of 9¢.
The Warringah Freeway upgrade has been under construction since 2022. Credit: Oscar Colman
The increase has been signed off amid ongoing disruption and congestion thanks to Warringah Freeway upgrade construction works.
Transport Minister John Graham defended the rise, saying the toll rise would help pay for the $60 weekly toll cap, which mostly benefits motorists in Sydney’s west driving on roads operated by Transurban. A weekday peak hour return trip from Blacktown to the CBD using the M7, M2 Lane Cove Tunnel and Harbour Bridge now costs $38.03, an increase from $12.72 in 2009.
“That toll relief making a big difference to people’s pockets, but we need to fund it, and this money will go straight into that,” he said on Saturday.
“Drivers from the west often sitting in traffic, their tolls are going up. Similarly, drivers coming across other crossings will have similar arrangements. This is one approach across the city for everyone.”
Transport Minister John Graham said the changes were necessary to fund the toll cap.Credit: Jessica Hromas
This is the second time since 2009 that tolls have increased on the bridge. In 2023 tolls increased by 6.8 per cent in the week after the toll cap was announced.
Graham said it was unfair that previous governments hadn’t increased tolls on the bridge.
“Tolls are continuing to increase under the contracts the former government signed in the west. We are just making sure that everyone’s paying their share.”
Motorists have been navigating ever-changing lane arrangements and road closures around the Warringah Freeway since major works began in 2022. The construction is expected to be completed next year.
The upgrade will support the opening of the Western Harbour Tunnel in 2028, which will shave 20 minutes off journeys from North Sydney to Sydney Olympic Park.
Mosman councillor Roy Bendall labelled the toll increase a “theft” of his community to subsidise a toll cap mostly used in western Sydney.
“We paid off the Harbour Bridge in the ’80s – this is insane and it’s inequitable,” he said.
Bendall said his community would feel “betrayed” by the increase, given the disruptions caused by the freeway upgrades.
“We are being billed for our suffering.”
The Warringah Freeway upgrade was also meant to enable to construction of the seven-kilometre Beaches Link tunnels, from Balgowlah and Seaforth to North Sydney, which would then connect to the Western Harbour Tunnel.
However, the Beaches Link was scrapped by the Minns government, which labelled the project “irresponsible”.
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