Concerns remain on concentration of coverage and lack of safeguards and options
Transurban’s draft undertaking to the Australia Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) does not address the trucking industry’s concerns about the proposed acquisition of WestConnex, according to Australian Trucking Association (ATA).
The ACCC has released a draft proposed undertaking by Transurban that would require the company to publish traffic data from its NSW road toll network.
But the ATA says it fears the proposed acquisition of WestConnex by Transurban-led consortium Sydney Transport Partners (STP) will substantially lessen competition for concessions to construct, own and operate toll roads in New South Wales.
Read how Transurban and its partners went ahead with their bid here
“It does not address our concerns about increased truck tolls and a reduction in competition for the construction, ownership and operation of toll roads in Australia,” ATA chair Geoff Crouch says.
“The 16,000 hardworking trucking businesses in New South Wales can’t even afford the truck tolls they are charged now.
“The proposed sale would push truck tolls up even higher in the long run.”
ATA concerns include:
- Transurban would be substantially advantaged in seeking future toll road concessions in NSW, with more options for funding proposals by proposing an increase in the heavy vehicle multiplier
- heavy vehicle operators generally do not have the ability to take alternate routes and as a result would have no option but to pay the increased multiplier
- increases in the heavy vehicle multiplier in Sydney would ultimately flow through to other states
- increases in heavy vehicle tolls have a significant impact on trucking businesses.
- despite Transurban’s assertions, its heavy vehicle tolls do not merely cover the cost of road wear by heavy vehicles
- government incentives to constrain Transurban’s heavy vehicle charges would continue to erode.
“Trucking operators do not have the ability to choose alternative transport modes,” Crouch says.
“A freight transporter can’t strap their load to the back of a bicycle and hope for the best.”
Last week, Transurban offered an undertaking to the ACCC that it will publish 15-minute-interval toll gantry data each quarter, which includes vehicle count, vehicle classification (e.g. light vehicle, heavy vehicle) and direction of traffic flow.
The data is proposed to be made available for the following toll roads: M2; Lane Cove Tunnel; Cross City Tunnel; M1; WestConnex itself; and any other toll road in NSW in which Transurban gains an interest.
Transurban will also seek to publish data with the same level of detail for the M5, Westlink M7 and NorthConnex, subject to obtaining consent from its partners on those three roads, but if it is unable to obtain consent, it will publish a more aggregated set of data for those roads.
The full ATA submission can be read here.