Toll relief plan leaves Harbour Bridge and Tunnel road users to pay more
Image: Tolls on Harbour Bridge and Tunnel to increase apart of NSW budget plan. Image: Transport for NSW/Facebook.
By JUSTIN COOPER.
Incoming toll relief may cause grief for Northern Sydney road users, as tolls across the Harbour Bridge and Harbour Tunnel are set to increase by 6.8 percent next month.
The rise follows the NSW Budget plan to introduce weekly toll caps next year, seeking the new Harbour Bridge and Tunnel toll revenue to assist the relief package.
According to Transport for NSW, approximately 160,000 road vehicles use the bridge every day. However, the new toll relief plan is estimated to assist around 720,000 motorists each year with the cash back scheme.
Increase to begin in October
Announcing the increases Saturday morning, Roads Minister John Graham acknowledged that “no toll increase is ever welcome,” but will help relieve other drivers where public transport is not as accessible.
“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,” Graham explains.
“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.”
Toll prices across Western Sydney have increased dramatically over the past 14 years, whilst the harbour bridge and tunnel tolls have remained unchanged.
In perspective, a motorist’s return trip from Blacktown to CBD during peak hour is currently $34.54. This is a 171 percent increase in comparison to the same trip’s toll prices in 2009, initially costing $12.60.
The 6.8 percent increase will be applied to each of the existing timely prices; from $4 to $4.27 during peak times, $3 to $3.20 off-peak, and $2.50 to $2.67 at night.
Harbour Bridge and Tunnel toll prices will increase on October 29.
Major toll relief for Western Sydney
A part of the NSW 2023-24 Budget, the government has allocated $561 million over two years to implement a toll cap for motorists.
The new plan will cap tolls to $60 per week, which will be refunded to motorists on a quarterly period from Service NSW.
Just under three-quarters of a million people should be eligible for the refunds. Motorists in Silverwater, Blacktown and Quakers Hill are expected to receive an average refund of over $400 each year.
In Kellyville and its adjacent suburbs, an estimated $5.3 million in toll relief is expected to be given back to motorists in 2024.
Announcing the cap plan last week, said Graham, “Motorists, particularly in western Sydney where access to public transport alternatives have been more limited than in other parts of the city, have been crying out for relief from the ever-rising burden of tolls on the family budget.”
“We know people are doing it tough and ‘toll mania’ is one of the most unpopular legacies of the former government,” Graham continued.
The toll relief cap is expected to be implemented at the beginning of 2024.
