Sydney drivers to be hit with new Harbour Bridge and tunnel tolls

NSW motorists will face new charges on the Sydney Harbour Bridge and tunnel from 2028, the government has confirmed.

A new charge will be levelled against northbound drivers across the Sydney Harbour Bridge and tunnel. Picture: Damian Shaw / Newswire

Motorists driving north across the Sydney Harbour Bridge and tunnel will be hit with a new charge from 2028, with the NSW government to confirm on Thursday that two-way tolling will be introduced.

The northbound charge, which breaks a 2021 pledge by Premier Chris Minns that “going forward there should be no new tolls on existing roads”, will be used to make a $60 cap on weekly tolls permanent.

State Roads Minister John Graham will confirm two-way tolling on the Harbour Bridge and tunnel will kick off in late 2028 when the new Western Harbour Tunnel is forecast to open.

The new tunnel, which links Rozelle to the Warringah Freeway, will open with two-way tolling – with the government saying the Sydney Harbour Bridge and tunnel will have to adopt the measure to prevent the new infrastructure becoming a white elephant. “Two-way tolling on the harbour crossings was made necessary when the Liberals decided the Western Harbour Tunnel would be tolled in both directions,” Mr Graham said.

Northbound trips on the harbour bridge and tunnel will now incur the same charges as southbound trips. Picture: Gaye Gerard / Newswire

He’ll also announce that admin fees on unpaid toll notices will be scrapped, an early result from ongoing discussions between government and toll road operators after Labor campaigned ahead of the 2023 election on reforming Sydney’s tolling network.

The government has committed to using the funds from the harbour charges to fund its weekly toll cap, which will become permanent after a two-year trial began in January 2024.

Making the cap permanent is a major play in Labor’s western Sydney heartland, where drivers are most impacted by toll charges. “If you live in western Sydney, you have been paying tolls in both directions and seeing them rise with frustrating regularity. If you only use the Harbour Bridge or tunnel, you have paid in one direction and the toll has almost never gone up,” Mr Graham said.