Sydney's M4 toll road no more - detolled when concession ended Feb 15 24:00

Sydney's first tollroad in the automobile era, the M4 heading west out of Sydney is no more. As of midnight Feb 15 the 20 year concession held by State Wide Roads expired, the road was turned over to the state of New South Wales (NSW), and toll collection ended.

An average of 100k vehicles use the six lane expressway each day.

The concession agreement for construction was signed in 1989. The new toll expressway of 12.2km (7.6 miles)  provided an alternative to Parramatta Road/Great Western Highway, a surface arterial almost alongside with 60 sets of traffic signals. The toll for traveling the length of the tollroad was A$2.75 ($2.48) for a car.

Toll revenue was running around A$89m/year ($80m).

The road cost A$246m ($221m) to build and opened for traffic in 1992.

The NSW state government had several options:

- negotiating an extension of the toll concession

- seeking proposals for a new concession

- continuing tolls under state management as on the Sydney Harbour Bridge

- detolling

The Labor Party government presently in power in NSW had commited to detolling and it was the popular move, supported by 71% of the public in favor to 14% against, according to one local opinion poll.

But it has been strongly criticized for forgoing a revenue stream to improve the road and throwing away a variable pricing tool to manage congestion.

Business against the detoll

The leading Sydney business lobby called the decision "bad policy," executive director of Sydney Business Chamber, Patricia Forsythe writing:

"Tolling roads is no longer merely a method of funding infrastructure that reduces the cost burden of building roads on the taxpayer. It is now also about sending (price) signals to commuters about how we want to travel around our city. Scrapping the M4 toll now (will) leave a gaping hole in any future congestion management strategy for the city."

The major newspaper Sydney Morning herald also opposed detolling.

Worsened congestion?

A major issue is how much extra traffic will be attracted by the detoll. The question is complicated by a porkbarrel arrangement of "cashback" payments the state was making to many users of the tollroad.

But by one estimate the detolling will add about 27% or 6.5 minutes to the morning commute.

Plenty of tollroads remain in the Sydney area - M2 parallel and to the north, M7 on the west, M5 to its south and M1 Eastern Distributor to the east.

The M4 Motorway website has this history:

M4 Motorway Historical Dates

1970's Prospect to Penrith, completed by NSW Government.

1980's Concord to Parramatta, completed by NSW Government.

1989 NSW Government awarded the M4 tollroad project to Statewide Roads Limited. The project involved upgrades to existing sections of the motorway, and construction of a new 10km section between Mays Hill and Prospect.

1992 The M4 Motorway opened in May 1992 as a four lane tollroad, providing uninterrupted urban motorway conditions between Concord and Lapstone.

1993 Service Centres at Prospect commenced operating, providing fuel, food and convenience outlets.

1996 Commencement of the widening and upgrade of the M4 Motorway to six lanes.

1997 Introduction of the NSW Government Cashback Scheme.

1997 Introduction of Tollpass microchip tolling device.

1998 Completion of widening and upgrade.

2003 Introduction of electronic, non-stop tolling.

2007-2008 Surface upgrade to the M4 Motorway between Coleman Street, Mays Hill and the Eastern Creek Service Centres, and between James Ruse Drive and the toll plaza.

2010 On 16 February 2010, ownership of the M4 reverted back to the NSW Government and the toll was removed.

Toll History

1992 Class A toll $1.50 Class B toll $4.00

1996     Class B toll increased to $4.50 on 5 August 1996

2000     Class A toll increased to $1.60 on 1 July 2000 (GST)

2000     Class B toll increased to $4.90 on 1 July 2000 (GST)

2000     Class A toll increased to $2.20 on 6 November 2000

2002     Class B toll increased to $5.50 on 24 May 2002

2005     Class B toll increased to $6.00 on 12 August 2005

2008     Class B toll increased to $6.60 on 24 May 2008

2008     Class A toll increased to $2.75 on 23 August 2008

2010     Toll removed from 16 February 2010

COMMENT: We grieve the passing of a good tollroad. Condolences should be sent to the motorists of Sydney. Tolls will be reborn here again, however, in a more enlightened era - editor.

TOLLROADSnews 2010-02-16