Commuters on toll roads in Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne will notice price hikes on Monday due to long-term contracts with tolling giant Transurban.
The price rises come as the competition watchdog flags concerns the private operator could also become dominant in Melbourne.
As part of quarterly increases to New South Wales toll roads that take effect from 1 July, the maximum costs for the M7 will increase by 13 cents to $9.51, the M2 by 12 cents to $9.35, the Cross-City Tunnel by nine cents to $6.71, and the Lane Cove Tunnel by six cents to $3.90.
Additionally, the flat rate costs for the NorthConnex will increase by 12 cents to $9.35, the Eastern Distributor northbound by 10 cents to $9.19, and the M5 South-West by eight cents to $5.49.
Saturday’s price increases illustrate the bizarre patchwork of tolling agreements. While seven toll roads have quarterly increases, five others – the WestConnex, WestConnex M4, M5 East, M8 and M4-M5 link – have annual price rises.
All of the private toll roads in Sydney are either wholly or partly owned and operated by Transurban as part of an array of long-term agreements which stipulate minimum guaranteed revenue.
The Sydney Harbour Bridge and Harbour Tunnel toll roads, which are entirely government-owned, have not increased since 2009, and are the cheapest toll roads in the city.
Sydney’s toll roads have several different pricing structures – some charge a fixed fee, others charge for the distance travelled, while for another road, users pay an access fee as well as for the distance travelled.
There are also roads where users are charged differently depending on the time of day or day of the week and some roads only toll users in one direction.
The NSW roads minister, John Graham, said: “this latest toll price rise arrives at a time when the cost of living continues to bite hard.
“Currently the details dictating how and when these toll increases are applied are tied up in opaque tolling contracts that we want to share with the public,” he said.
Graham noted his government’s tolling review, which is being led by former Australian Competition and Consumer Commission chair Alan Fels, to make Sydney’s toll roads fairer and simpler.
Splitting Sydney’s tolling network into geographic zones is one idea being explored by the state government’s reform process which could ultimately see it pay compensation to Transurban.
Public hearings are scheduled for 11-13 July and Graham encouraged the public to be involved.
In response to the NSW toll reform, a Transurban spokesperson said the company “has a long track record of working collaboratively with our partners and governments, and remains open to discussions how the network can deliver even greater efficiency, fairness, simplicity and transparency.
“Sydney’s motorway network delivers improved safety, economic benefits such as job creation, faster travel times that boost productivity and reliability, and improve local surface roads and communities,” it said.
Toll increases will also affect Queensland and Victorian drivers from Saturday.
Drivers in Brisbane using the Clem7 will pay up to $6.12 while commercial trucks using the same road will face a fee of $18.36 during peak hours.
Melbourne motorists driving across the city from Essendon to the south-east could pay up to $11.16 a trip.
Meanwhile, the ACCC on Thursday flagged concerns about Transurban’s proposed acquisition of a majority interest in Horizon Roads, which is the operator of Melbourne’s EastLink toll road and has the concession – an exclusive right to collect tolls on a road – until 2043.
Transurban already operates the CityLink toll road, and is building and will operate the West Gate Tunnel toll road.
The ACCC chair, Gina Cass-Gottlieb, raised concerns the acquisition could give Transurban advantages when competing for future toll road projects, given its traffic-modelling capabilities and expertise and access to data.
The acquisition could deter the emergence of a key rival to Transurban, Cass-Gottlieb said, which would limit potential competition to build, operate or own toll roads in Victoria.
If Transurban acquires Horizon Roads, the former will be the only incumbent toll road operator in the state, which could give it an advantage over any other operators hoping to enter the Victorian market in the future. Global operators without an Australian presence, such as Spanish tolling giant Abertis Infraestructuras, are reportedly considering making a move for EastLink.
“We are also considering whether Transurban benefits from lower cost finance due to perceptions of its existing market position, and how this may further entrench its advantages over other competitors after the acquisition,” Cass-Gottlieb said.
In response to the ACCC’s concerns, a Transurban spokesperson said Transurban notes the ACCC released a statement of issues outlining its preliminary views in relation to the potential sale of a majority interest in Horizon Roads Pty Ltd.
“Transurban will continue to proactively engage with the ACCC. We are of the view that there would be no substantial lessening of competition from the potential acquisition,” the spokesperson said.
Transurban recorded a $55m half-year profit in February this year.
With AAP
