This Aussie city will soon have the world’s highest road tolls
It’s already known for its high cost of living and unattainable house prices, but the harbour city is just about to become even more unaffordable. Reports from News Corp suggest that within the next five years, Sydney will have more road tolls than any other city in the world.
In addition to the 135km of tolled roads currently spanning nine of the city’s main corridors, upon completion, the WestConnex project will add even more, bringing Sydney’s total tolled road count to 15 – more than the whole of the UK.
Despite this, according to Roads Minister Melinda Pavey, more than half of the city’s population is in favour of more road tolls if it means lowering travel times.
“Fifty-nine per cent of motorists are in favour of new toll roads to make getting around Sydney easier,” she revealed. “Without these projects, congestion on major corridors would be considerably worse.”
However, not everyone is in favour. Blacktown Mayor Stephen Bali has criticised the system for unfairly targeting Western Sydneysiders, who will be expected to pay over $124 in tolls every week.
“Once again, Western Sydney is facing the issue of tolls,” he said. “The part of Sydney that is most poorly served by public transport is being penalised for having to take the car to get to work.”
What do you think about Sydney’s toll situation? Are you in favour? Or will it make living in the harbour city too expensive?