VTA welcomes off-peak toll commitment

Liberal spokesman's proposal welcomed as sign both parties take transport seriously, ahead of Victorian election

The Victorian Transport Association (VTA) has welcomed a commitment by the Victorian Liberal Party to offer discounted tolls to heavy vehicles using the state’s toll roads outside of peak times.

Victoria’s opposition roads spokesman, David Hodgett, told The Age yesterday that he would push tolling companies Transurban and ConnectEast for off-peak discounts for trucks if the Coalition won government after the state election in November.

“When we start to sit down with them [tolling companies] and start to have discussions with them about roads projects and traffic congestion in and around the city, I would flag with them that if we were elected… we’d be expecting to have a discussion about tolls,” Hodgett was quoted as saying.

While shying away from saying exactly how much would be cut, The Age reported the proposed cut would be “more generous than the existing 33 per cent discount for trucks using CityLink at night”.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission is currenly examining a proposal by a group majority owned by Transurban to acquire the WestConnex tollroad in Sydney – a move applauded by the Australian Trucking Association (ATA). Check out our story on the proposal here

That incentive, offered by Transurban, came after VTA advocacy, chief executive Peter Anderson says, adding that the toll road owner had also committed to a range of discounts when the West Gate Tunnel is built in Melbourne.

“Heavy vehicle tolls are disproportionally higher than tolls for other vehicle classifications, which contributes to higher operating costs for operators, so it’s only fair that freight operators be offered incentives for frequent toll road use, especially when curfews and bans are being applied to alternative roads,” Anderson says.

“We are encouraged that both the Government and the Opposition are recognising the importance of the transport industry to the health of the economy through their announcement of policies and other measures to improve productivity for freight operators.”

“As we are seeing with WestConnex in Sydney and the West Gate Tunnel in Melbourne, private enterprises partnering with the government on expensive new projects is becoming the model for funding new infrastructure, which the VTA wholeheartedly embraces,” he says.