The New South Wales Labor Party plans to limit road tolls to $60 a week if it wins state elections in March. This is because the party wants to overhaul its bloated toll network and seek better deals for infrastructure operators.
More than 50,000 drivers will be better off under the scheme, saving around A$147 million (US$101.62 million) over their first two years of life, the party said.
Opposition leader Chris Mings said the current government’s deal has resulted in record tolls that unfairly hurt people living in Sydney’s suburbs.
“This mess was created by Dominique Perrote himself. They signed a secret deal to privatize the toll road. No toll company loses and no Sydney driver wins. says Minns.
“We want to ensure fairness across the Sydney metropolis. The government does not provide public transport, but it does provide new toll roads, so we cannot be at a disadvantage. is not.”
If the Central Labor Party wins next month’s election, the A$60 (US$41.48) weekly cap will start from 1 January 2024, with quarterly refunds for tolls charged over the cap.
This change is in addition to the government’s existing 40% rebate up to AU$750 (518.47 USD) for eligible drivers and the M5 cashback scheme.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, a consumer watchdog, has been appointed to lead a review of the state’s toll system under the Labor Code.
Former ACCC Chair Professor Alan Fels will lead a review of long-term reform options to overhaul NSW’s toll system, including a review of contracts with private road operators, including Sydney’s largest Transervan. It’s a schedule.
He said Sydney’s toll network has a number of issues to address, including competition recently raised by the ACCC.
“There is one major operator of Sydney’s toll roads, and that fact gives us a huge competitive advantage over potential competitors,” says Fels.
“Having an enormous amount of information about things like traffic patterns and driver behavior puts us in a much better position than the winning bid when new contracts and extensions arise.”
Fels said it would pursue this and other issues, including transparency in relations and transactions between Transurban and the government, and the possibility of moving freight on toll roads at night rather than during busy hours.
Last week, Transurban, the private operator that manages 10 of Sydney’s 12 toll roads, said state drivers had paid more than $835 million in tolls in just six months.
The government has implemented a review of Sydney’s toll system. Originally scheduled to be completed in September last year, the release has been delayed until after the election next month.