New South Wales Labor will cap road tolls at $60 a week if it wins the March state election, as the party seeks to overhaul the bloated toll network and press infrastructure operators for a better deal.
Over 50,000 drivers would be better off under the plan, saving around A$147 million (US$101.62 million) over its initial two-year lifespan, the party said.
Opposition leader Chris Minns said deals made by the current government were driving record tolls that were unfairly disadvantaging those living in Sydney’s outer suburbs.
“This mess is Dominic Perrottet’s own making—they have signed secret contracts and privatised toll roads. Toll companies can’t lose, Sydney drivers can’t win,” Minns said.
“We want to make sure that there’s fairness right across metropolitan Sydney and you shouldn’t be disadvantaged because the government hasn’t provided public transport, but they have provided brand new toll roads.”
A cap of A$60 (US$41.48) a week would commence on Jan. 1, 2024, if the centre-Labor wins next month’s election, with any tolls charged above the cap to be refunded on a quarterly basis.
The change would be on top of the government’s existing 40 percent rebate of up to A$750 (US$518.47) for eligible drivers and the M5 cashback scheme.
Consumer watchdog the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission would be appointed to lead a review of the state’s toll system under Labor.
Professor Allan Fels, the former chair of the ACCC, would lead the review into long-term reform options for overhauling the tolling system in NSW, including reviewing contracts with private road operators, including Sydney’s biggest, Transurban.
He said there were a number of issues to address with Sydney’s toll network, including competition, over which the ACCC has recently flagged concern.
“There’s one main operator of Sydney toll roads and that fact gives it a huge competitive advantage over any potential competitors,” Fels said.
“It’s got a huge amount of information about traffic patterns, driver behaviour and so on that means when new contracts or extensions come up, it’s far better placed than them to be able to make winning bids.”
Fels said he would be pursuing this and other questions, including transparency in the relationship and deals between Transurban and the government, as well as the possibility of moving freight on toll roads at night rather than busier times.
Last week private operator Transurban, which controls 10 out of 12 of Sydney’s tolls roads, said the state’s drivers paid over $835 million in tolls in just six months.
The government has conducted a review of Sydney’s tolling system, initially due for completion last September but delayed for release until after the election next month.
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