Increases on no fewer than 10 NSW toll roads brought in the new year and the state branch of the Transport Workers Union (TWU) was quick to call on recently appointed NSW Roads Minister Natalie Ward to address, “…out-of-control toll road costs,” as her, “…first order of business,” recently. It should be noted these ‘cost concerns’ overlap somewhat with those outlined late-2021 from BusNSW, which itself appeared at the public hearing following an earlier submission to the NSW Inquiry into Road Tolling Regimes. Here the state bus association highlighted: that buses and coaches in NSW are subject to the same charges as trucks; the distinction between the contracted and non-contracted long-distance, tourist and charter (LDTC) sectors of the industry; and that while the cost of tolls for metropolitan bus operators was generally factored into contracts and absorbed by the NSW government, long-distance, tourist and charter buses were not protected and passed on the toll fares to their customers.
The union call came as TWU projections show that Sydney’s toll roads are set to more than double (and in some cases triple) over the next 25 years. The increases are particularly significant for truck drivers and other heavy vehicles, who pay triple the tolls of other drivers on most roads, the union highlights.
CRIPPLING COSTS
TWU NSW state secretary Richard Olsen says a new year and a new Roads Minister presents the perfect opportunity to provide meaningful toll relief to owner-drivers
