Congestion Tolls and 100% E-Tag

[AWD Chaser]

Do you support the idea of 100% Cashless tolls for Sydney or higher toll prices during peak hours? Well the new premier does!

I think it is absolutely stupid.

I personally think they need more cash tolls (at certain toll roads, not all) and as stated below, maybe a congestion charge if there is better public transport options avaliable.

http://news.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=658795

NSW Premier Nathan Rees has said he wants cashless tolls on all of Sydney's major roads so motorists pay varying fees at different times of the day.

Varying tolls would encourage people to travel outside peak periods, easing congestion.

But NSW Greens MP Lee Rhiannon says the move - an effective congestion toll tax to cut peak-hour traffic - would bring hardship particularly to the north-west and south-west Sydney suburbs.

"Premier Rees needs to realise that without more public transport options many people will not be able to leave their cars at home, and his congestion toll plan will become nothing more than another revenue-raising measure," Ms Rhiannon said.

"Sydney's public transport is straining under increased patronage right now. Particularly in peak periods there is very little room for additional passengers."

She said London's congestion tax worked successfully because the public transport system could cater for people who no longer wanted to drive.

She called on Mr Rees to commit to building a north-west heavy rail line, expand light rail services and upgrade existing services.

Mr Rees is the first premier to support congestion tolling, which his predecessor Morris Iemma dismissed.

He also said he wanted to build up outlying centres such as Hornsby, Penrith, Parramatta and Newcastle to ease pressure on traffic and Sydney's CBD.

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[Paxton]

I agree completely with 100% ETag, but not higher tags during peak hour? We've got a 3x3x3 tax that is supposed to fix the roads, so where do they expect the extra tolls to go? To pay off the loans that the government refuse to take out to protect a AAA rating that they are going to loose anyway. I love the things, and have one in both of my cars.

I don't on the other hand agree with the congestion charge. With this government's lack of ability to build any public transport, especially heavy rail, why should the citizens be left to suffer? We need more trains, trams (extend the tramway in Sydney), and the whole of Sydney should be a Clearway.

The thing that Rees et. al can't get their heads around, is that if Sydney's public transport was better, there wouldn't be as many cars in the CBD, this negating the need for a Congestion charge. All this from a lame duck government who will be out of office in March 2011.

[Yellow_Festiva]

Why can't people use E-Tags 100% of the time. Cash is a bad and inefficient option.

The only reason people give is "I don't want X company knowing my personal information and banking details"... Oh and the shock horror of paying $40 deposit and whatever the opening credit is to get the account going.

Oh Paleeese... get over it.

Tolls should be all cashless, with the 1 system used throughout Australia. Not a regular user / or a visitor? Simple, create a pre-paid / post paid system (like some states already have anyway).

Congestion charge? Thats a tough one. Our public transport is crap. People don't use the busses and trains so they raise the prices, and often it is cheaper to drive then to use public transport.. so it's a catch 22 situation.

This government has NFI... they 'invested' $100mil on an integrated smart card ticketing system.. and that went belly up after a few years. What idiots.

The answer? Go to Korea / Singapore and hire the company that implemented their fool-proof, seamless and highly efficient ticketing systems... We would have it in 6 months and for half the price i'm sure, based on their tried, tested and PROVEN systems and hardware.

[DanielXR8]

The problem with eTags is what in another part of the state (hard to believe I know, but bear with me) and you visit Sydney once or twice a year, why should you be expected to jump through multiple hoops to get a eTag? Surely the residents of NSW are allowed to visit Sydney on occassions without being penalised in time or money? Or should all highways out of Sydney have eTags you have to apply for if you are a Sydney resident, where we can make you pay through the nose for the one trip you do out of town on holidays.

You get my point. I hope!

Dan

[burnz]

i pay $400 a year road tax + gst
$100 a year road levy + gst
3 x 3 petrol cpl tax + gst
why should i pay for a road that i have allready paid for?? again again

[The G6ET Spot]

All roads that have tolls should be cashless. There wouldn't be the stupidity of having 6 lanes dedicated to cash tolls and 2 lanes of e-tag only to see 99% of the cars going through the e-tag lanes and being held up.

It's not that hard to go cashless, so I can't see what the holdup is.

Oh I forgot,we are in NSW and we have the bozo's running the place.

Originally Posted by burnz

3 x 3 petrol cpl tax + gst

It was 3x3 when it was first started than it was changed to 4x4 and it has never been taken off. It was also linked to the CPI so it would be around 10 or 11 cents/ litre now. I bet that makes you feel even better

[flappist]

Originally Posted by Yellow_Festiva

Why can't people use E-Tags 100% of the time. Cash is a bad and inefficient option.

Maybe the majority of Australians do not live in Sydney?

What happens when visitors go to Sydney?

[Yellow_Festiva]

Originally Posted by flappist

Maybe the majority of Australians do not live in Sydney?

What happens when visitors go to Sydney?

The E-tag I use in Sydney will also work anywhere in Australia that has a toll road.

http://www.citylink.com.au/261.jsp

And, there are already systems in place for casual users / visitors.

http://www.roam.com.au/content/tagle...sp?CC=33&CN=92

The problem is, the same system is not implemented across the country.

[Rob's 76 Effy]

Originally Posted by flappist

Maybe the majority of Australians do not live in Sydney?

What happens when visitors go to Sydney?

You get slugged like the rest of us that don't have any use for an E Tag, all roads should be free, we pay enough in rego and fuel tax (3x3x3x3x3x3x3 it's been going on forever and a day) in NSW

[Auslandau]

Originally Posted by flappist

Maybe the majority of Australians do not live in Sydney?

What happens when visitors go to Sydney?

Same as when they visit Melbourne. All E tags here.



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[XR Martin]

Who voted this muppet in? Oh wait, he wasnt voted in...

[burnz]

Originally Posted by RAPID XR8

It was 3x3 when it was first started than it was changed to 4x4 and it has never been taken off. It was also linked to the CPI so it would be around 10 or 11 cents/ litre now. I bet that makes you feel even better

yeah and the best road in NSW is the federal hwy, i wonder why.
and thanks for making me fell better :

[AWD Chaser]

Originally Posted by burnz

yeah and the best road in NSW is the federal hwy, i wonder why.
and thanks for making me fell better :

hahaha - try the Monaro Highway for a joke. I would pay a toll for that to be re done for a proper highway that can acomodate a magnitude of trucks, holiday makers and the congested snow season... as oposed to the single lane deteriorating road it is now.

[GasoLane]

Lots of narrow minded thinking people here (surprise surprise!)

Not everyone lives in Syd, or any other capital city for that matter so at least one 'cash only' lane is needed.

There would be thousands of people visiting from the country, interstate and overseas, that have absolutely no need for a lump of white plastic stuck on their windscreen!

As has already been said Toll roads should not even be here, we pay far too much in tax's for the privilege of driving on 3rd world roads.

Ask anyone from Adel how much they get charged for driving through the tunnel under Mt Lofty..ZERO!!

[Dezza]

In Victoria for people who don't have etags, you can buy a "day pass". You can actually buy this within 2 or 3 days after you use the toll road, so if you accidentally get on the freeway, you aren't instantly fined for not having an etag, and you can get them at newsagents or places like that. I can't see why they couldn't do the same in NSW. All they do is record your rego on the system so you don't get fined for driving without an etag.

All up though, I'm still against toll roads. We pay enough to drive.

[GasoLane]

Originally Posted by Dezza!

I can't see why they couldn't do the same in NSW. All they do is record your rego on the system so you don't get fined for driving without an etag.

You can. The local paper just recently had quite a few irate readers saying that they've bought a 'daypass' (for Syd toll roads) or whatever over the phone or on the net and still recieved a fine!!

FWIW I've bought a few day passes for Vic and had no problems. It just seems to be NSW that can't get it together.

[Smoke Pursuit]

Im all for etoll, i cant wait till they get rid of the toll boths in QLD< they are a pain in the and thats why gateway is broken 90% of the week!

Or better still, lets not have any tolls at all...

[Yellow_Festiva]

Another thing not mentioned. Here in Sydney, the M5 and M4 tolls are refunded, bar the GST when used by privately registered cars. The only way to get this is with an E-Tag account.

In the last 3 months I have spent at least $536.40 in tolls, and got a refund of $487.64...

But, going to work and home again, you see the same cars each and every day in the cash only lane : ... Wonder if these are the same people who complain and winge when petrol goes up a whole 10c/l???

[Rob's 76 Effy]

Only refunded to those that live in the outer western suburbs, not everyone gets it, RTA check your postcode of where you live

[bob^]

Originally Posted by Dezza!

In Victoria for people who don't have etags, you can buy a "day pass". You can actually buy this within 2 or 3 days after you use the toll road, so if you accidentally get on the freeway, you aren't instantly fined for not having an etag, and you can get them at newsagents or places like that. I can't see why they couldn't do the same in NSW. All they do is record your rego on the system so you don't get fined for driving without an etag.

All up though, I'm still against toll roads. We pay enough to drive.

And if you forget, you simply get a letter in the mail with an $11 administration fee attached on top of your toll. Everyone having e-tag's is just stupid. I'm lucky to drive on the Citylink down here once a year - if that. The last time I used it was a few days before New Years 2007.

[gtxb67]

Originally Posted by GasOLane

You can. The local paper just recently had quite a few irate readers saying that they've bought a 'daypass' (for Syd toll roads) or whatever over the phone or on the net and still recieved a fine!!

if you get it from aust post and make sure your rego number is correct, keep the receipt then you have the proof to not have the fine (assuming of course you can get them from aust post in sydney)

obviously the phone or net does not give you a receipt, and details can be incorrectly entered, so another car that didn't travel gets the credit - but when i need one, i get it from aust post. there is paperwork and no one can get it wrong

[BlackLS]

99% of those driving on Sydney motorways would live in Sydney and use it daily. Cater for the majority, and make it cashless. Perhaps they can reduce the $11 admin fee for when you get the fine in the mail to $5 or so, bringing the toll to about $8 or so the people interstate won't have any probs.

I think the motorway travel time should be recorded, if average speed drops, so should the toll.

[Yellow_Festiva]

Originally Posted by Explorer_Me

Only refunded to those that live in the outer western suburbs, not everyone gets it, RTA check your postcode of where you live

Nope.....

Eligibility
To be eligible for Cashback you must be a resident of NSW and claim only those trips made in a vehicle registered in NSW that has a private usage shown on its registration papers, for example, 'private general', 'charitable' or 'pensioner'. Trips made using business registered vehicles, including those supplied as part of a remuneration package, are not eligible for Cashback.

http://www.rta.nsw.gov.au/usingroads...ackscheme.html

Oh... and that's from the RTA...

[GoldCoastGTP]

Originally Posted by flappist

Maybe the majority of Australians do not live in Sydney?

What happens when visitors go to Sydney?

IF (read IF) you have a tag from another state you can use it - they are all intergrated

[Rob's 76 Effy]

My Bad, i thought it was to compensate ppl travelling from the outer west to the city, don't worry me as i get of on Parra Rd into the city when i have to, lucky i only work 10k's from home and don't need tolls :

[dave289]

And to think not so long ago you paid using only cash. I can understand some people who live away from sydney and would only use it once or twice a year to say keep a cash lane for them but the problem is at peak hour where you have major congestion and now only one cash lane. I think there are many semi regular users that have not got around to getting there tag or have not bothered knowing there still is the cash lane there,the problem is with one cash lane at peak hour this one lane is going back so far it is blocking and slowing the trafiic trying to get through with e tags. This is why daily useres want e-tag only as they are the ones suffering evryday and know the traffic will flow that much better with e-tag only.this shows how much more traffic flows over the bridge these days and also through the GREAT HARBOUR TUNNEL which was built to relive congestion on the bridge as population increased and could not cope with the traffic.While the harbour tunnel was a great answer to the problem at the time ,did these people not think to build more than 2 lanes each way surely they could have made 3 or 4,how long was two lanes going to improve things?

[flappist]

Originally Posted by GoldCoastGTP

IF (read IF) you have a tag from another state you can use it - they are all intergrated

Why would someone who lives hundreds or even thousands of kilometres from a toll road have an E-tag?

On the off chance that one day they will have to use one of these roads?

Why not just increase the rego fees on all vehicles that are registered say with 100km of a toll road and save a fortune is e-tags, the reading equipment and all the public vegetables needed to process it?

[burnz]

Originally Posted by flappist

Why would someone who lives hundreds or even thousands of kilometres from a toll road have an E-tag?

On the off chance that one day they will have to use one of these roads?

Why not just increase the rego fees on all vehicles that are registered say with 100km of a toll road and save a fortune is e-tags, the reading equipment and all the public vegetables needed to process it?

they allready put rego up again this year; still got that toll.
but you know they will run both.

[flappist]

Originally Posted by auslandau

Same as when they visit Melbourne. All E tags here.

Yes but nobody goes to Melbourne

I really do not understand why you victorians and to a lesser extent you sydneysiders put up with this crap. Do you REALLY think that all these speed cameras, road tolls and other totalitarianistic taxes and rules that you have had imposed on you are actually helping?

I have driven in Melbourne in the last 10 years, but only on a rental car with pre-paid E-tax and always at at least 20-30km/h under the lowest speed limit in the area as a protest (and for license preservation as I am used to looking at the road and other cars not my speedo while driving).

Fortunately it is not far to anywhere so it does not take much longer.

If E-tags were made mandatory for the gateway or logan (bris) it would cost the government many seats and maybe the balance of power.
Just look at the sunshine coast tollway......oh you can't, it was made free....

[Daymoe]

Don't like the tolls then don't use the highway, simple.