Melbourne's $13 billion toll road cash cow – How drivers are about to cough up even more
06/24/2024 04:00 PM
Since it opened, the price of travelling along Melbourne’s CityLink toll road has tripled to become the most profitable in the world.
An Australian toll road has taken the title of most profitable in the world after netting its operators almost $13 billion since it opened.
Melbourne’s CityLink has raked in nearly $13 billion from motorists since it first opened in 2000, reports Sky News, making it the most profitable road run by Transurban globally.
The Australian-owned toll provider runs 22 roads globally, 18 locally with the remaining four in the US and Canada – though Melbourne alone accounts for more than a quarter of its revenue.
From July this year, the cost of a daily pass on Citylink will go up to $22 – three times what it was when the road opened 24 years ago. For a light commercial vehicle the cost will rise to $49 a day.
From 1 July, a trip across the Bolte Bridge will change from $3.84 to $3.88, a trip through the Burnley Tunnel will go up from $6.91 to $6.98, and the trip cap will change from $11.51 to $11.63.
Under Transurban’s concession deed with the Victorian Government, tolls will increase annually by 4.25 per cent (1.05 per cent quarterly) until 2029, and then in line with inflation.
According to the Sky News report, toll prices have increased up to three times faster than inflation.
“CityLink toll prices are set in contracts and we’ve invested around $8 billion into the original build of the motorway and subsequent network upgrades, improving the city's connectivity and freeing up government to spend more on schools, hospitals and other infrastructure needs,” a spokesperson for Transurban told Drive.
“Customers are continuing to experience travel time savings of up to 30 minutes on trips using CityLink and have done so over the past 15 years, despite population in Melbourne increasing by around 1.3 million in that time.”
Australians might feel like we pay too much for toll roads – but we're actually well down the list of the world's most expensive.
Drivers in New South Wales have the greatest grounds for complaint, however, as their state accounts for 13 of the 21 toll roads in operation in Australia.
The title of the world's most expensive toll road goes to the Pennsylvania Turnpike, with drivers who tackle its entire 580km length without an E-Z Pass liable to pay a maximum of $US176.80 ($AU266.39) for passenger vehicles, or up to $US208 ($AU313.40) for light commercial vehicles like utes pulling trailers.
The post Melbourne’s $13 billion toll road cash cow – How drivers are about to cough up even more appeared first on Drive.
