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| Action for Public Transport (N.S.W.) Inc. |
| P O Box K606 |
| Haymarket NSW 1240 |
| 14 July 2023 |
Action for Public Transport (NSW) or "APTNSW" is a transport advocacy group which has been active in Sydney since 1974. We promote the interests of beneficiaries of public transport - passengers and the wider community alike.
If a city wants to get the best value out of its transport system, there are well-known principles to follow. Nevertheless this submission will describe principles for running an urban transport system well. For example, we [the people of greater Sydney] should be reducing vehicle ownership charges and emphasising vehicle usage charges but that does not necessarily mean that anyone should be paying more to drive or that total revenue collected from vehicle owners should change.
We note that, according to its web page, the Review will examine the basis for setting motorway tolls in Sydney and the impact of toll relief measures. The express terms of reference and our responses to them are:-
However, Action for Public Transport suggests that another consideration should be the environmental and social benefits to be gained by encouraging drivers to use public transport where and when available. Tolls are known to influence travel choices.
Transport will always be subsidised. But tolls could easily be used to make the transport system more efficient. Tolling would have to extend to roads that have never been tolled. To answer a question posed recently in Sydney Morning Herald (14 June), yes, the Anzac Bridge should be tolled. We quote from an opinion piece by David Hensher published in the same newspaper on 11 March 2016:
A congestion charge will help unclog Sydney's roads and save drivers money. . . .
At the Institute of Transport and Logistics Studies we showed a while ago that for the Sydney metropolitan area, if you halved registration charges and introduced a 5¢ per kilometre peak period charge, then almost every driver would be better off financially (as would state Treasury, though the federal government would lose out on some fuel excise due to reduced distance travelled by cars).
It would result in a 6 per cent drop in peak traffic (similar to traffic drop during school holidays), which makes a huge difference to the performance of the road network. It also a way of ensuring that those who benefit for the time savings under the new reform also pay.
To convince people we are talking sense, take a simple example of typical peak period kilometres in Sydney per year (4000 kilometres out of the typical yearly average 12,500 kilometres for private cars). Halving registration charges should save on average $200 a year and 4000 kilometres with a peak charge at 5¢ per kilometre is $200 so it is cost neutral. We could reduce registration charges even more, as per the view of Infrastructure Australia, and then saving to motorists is greater than $200 (possibly as great as $500).
We know from our surveys of commuters and non-commuters (and yes, at least 35 per cent of peak period car trips in Sydney are not commuting trips) that there are at least 6 per cent (and we believe more) of people who can and would switch to travel outside of the peak if the price incentives are there.
Over time we should review and increase the distance-based charge once the time benefits are revealed and experienced. Additional revenue can be used to fund much needed road and public transport infrastructure while delivering significant travel time savings on our roads.
. . . .
The research described by Professor Hensher is interesting, especially as it finds that modest adjustments to road costs could reduce peak traffic volumes by 6% and that this would have a very beneficial effect on peak-hour congestion. However, the charge levied should reflect traffic conditions such as peak versus after-midnight. Given that nowadays practically every vehicle in Sydney carries a toll tag, it would be feasible to add toll points to existing main roads in a way that estimated each vehicle's road usage. Needless to say, the tolls charged by these new toll points would vary depending on traffic conditions and would be much lower after midnight than in peak hours. Also, newer parts of Sydney don't have adequate public transport and therefore it would be unreasonable to price those commuters out of their cars. Ironically, those are the same commuters who need to drive furthest.
We cannot specify how much the new tolls should be. However, based on the finding reported above that 5¢/km would make a worthwhile difference to peak-hour traffic congestion, perhaps tolls totalling about 50¢ on 10km trips and proportionally more on longer trips would achieve a similar result. Imposing higher tolls on longer trips should, by giving motorists an incentive to minimise longer road trips, encourage a shift away from such trips. This could be very beneficial for Sydney's air pollution and traffic congestion problems.
The reader should understand the qualitative difference between short trips and long trips. Short trips, such as those within a finite region e.g. Northern Beaches, are typically areal in nature and can be in any direction. Such trips often do not radiate from or towards the centre of an urban region. The single-occupant car is good at servicing these short trips; a concentration of travel in particular directions is desirable for public transport to work efficiently. Contrast with longer trips most of which parallel well-beaten routes between the centres of urban regions. It is feasible to run public transport along those routes and in many parts of Sydney the public transport is already there.
Some time ago we prepared this map showing how Sydney's geography would allow much broader tolling in eastern Sydney with only the minor capital expenditure of erecting more toll points at carefully-selected locations. These points would of course be programmed with varying tolls according to traffic conditions prevailing at different times of day. We do not think that broader tolling would be helpful in western Sydney which has developed with a reliance on near-universal car travel.
Unfortunately, most or all toll road proposals around Sydney were assessed on the basis of financial benefits and costs to the proponent rather than environmental and social benefits and economic benefits and costs to the State. This should change.
We do not respond to this matter.
We do not respond to this matter.