Posts tagged cost of toll roads
Sydney Radio 2UE Toll Road Challenge

The epic failure of Sydney’s toll roads continues

POTENTIAL SAVING: $2232 annually, and 90 hours a week - one way

At 7.30am on Wednesday 9 November 2011, Radio 2UE broadcaster Paul Murray and I left Bankstown railway station in two separate cars, headed for The Rocks in Sydney. This seemingly inauspicious event was broadcast right across Sydney on 2UE.

Jason Morrison, 2UE’s breakfast host, covered our progress (if that’s the right word) regularly over the next 90 minutes or so, to answer the question: Are toll roads a fraud? In this case, the answer came back an unequivocal

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Toll Roads

Potential Saving: $4526.40 per annum – or more

Toll roads in Australia are a complete rip-off. In particular during peak periods, Sydney’s toll roads deliver no tangible benefit to the motorist, yet toll roads cost a bomb. Traffic just grinds to a halt on the major toll roads (and the major free roads) - only the drivers stuck on the toll roads can't get off or try an alternative route. Everyone stuck on a toll road in peak-hour is trapped in a linear car park - and paying through the neck for the 'privilege'. The only group benefiting from toll roads are the companies that own them.

Incredibly, the toll road trip below – common enough for people who live in the north-west sector – costs more than $4500 annually.

We tested what happens when you slash that cost to zero using established free roads.

Above: Castle Hill to the Sydney CBD via toll roads - 34km

Alternatively, try this larger version of the map

TOLL ROADS: NEED TO KNOW

Castle Hill to Sydney CBD via the following toll roads:

  • M2 Hills Motorway (toll road): $4.95
  • Lane Cove Tunnel (toll road): $2.89
  • Sydney Harbour Bridge (toll road): $4.00 (in peak periods) 

Return Trip via the same toll roads:

  • Lane Cove Tunnel (toll road): $2.89
  • M2 Hills Motorway (toll road): $4.95
  • (Note: no north-bound toll on the Sydney Harbour Bridge)
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