NSW: Harbour tunnel toll to go e-tag only

AAP General News (Australia)
04-01-2004
NSW: Harbour tunnel toll to go e-tag only

By Sam Holmes

SYDNEY, April 1 AAP - A fully cashless toll motorway system in Sydney was likely but
just how the transition would be managed was unclear, NSW Roads Minister Carl Scully said
today.

The minister's prediction came as he hinted today he would approve Roads and Traffic
Authority (RTA) plans to make the Sydney Harbour Tunnel an e-tag only system by Christmas.

"As we move towards motorways, we should actually make them cashless," Mr Scully told reporters.

The minister said the full conversion of the tunnel to e-tag was pending his approval
but likely to go ahead.

"They're not locked into the Christmas date, it's likely to be done by then but has
not yet been approved by me," he said.

E-tag transponders - currently in use in Sydney, Melbourne and Queensland - allow motorists
to drive through toll plazas without stopping, electronically charging tolls to users'
credit accounts.

Currently 500,000 motorists in Sydney use the e-tag system with 60 per cent of morning
traffic through the toll plazas on the Harbour Bridge and Tunnel paying electronically.

However, just what the e-tag only system will mean for infrequent tunnel users is unclear.

"We haven't finalised the systems that we've put in place, but I've asked the RTA to
consider such things as using the internet, telephone registration or in fact being invoiced
within 48 hours of travelling through," Mr Scully said.

Opposition roads spokesman Don Page said the coalition supported the e-tag generally
but there had to be an option available for people who did not have them.

"We support the introduction of e-tags however we are concerned about the infrequent
users - they could be city people or country people - who don't use the tunnel very often,"

he said.

AAP sh/jh/nf/lb/de

KEYWORD: ETAG

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