NRMA Motoring Blog

Just over a fortnight after the Sydney Harbour Bridge went cashless, tolls for vehicles crossing Sydney Harbour by either the Harbour Bridge or the Harbour Tunnel have changed to time-of-day tolling, with the amount charged dependent on the time of day.

The NSW Government has raised the toll to help reduce congestion in the city during peak times and to create enough revenue – $12 million – to supply 300 new buses.

From Tuesday 27 January 2009 the fee for crossing the Harbour from north to south will be $4 during peak periods – between 6.30-9.30am and 4.00-7.30pm Monday to Friday.

It will stay at $3 during the period of 9.30am-4.00pm Monday to Friday. In off-peak periods – midnight-6.30am and 7pm-midnight Monday to Friday, and 8.00am-8.00pm on weekends and public holidays – the toll will decrease to $2.50. Visit the RTA website for more information

The plan sounds good in theory but…

Experts are saying the congestion forecasts won’t change – unsurprising given that turning the Sydney Harbour Bridge and Tunnel cashless is also supposed to ease congestion and make the trip easier and quicker.

It has also been revealed that no extra bus or train services have been put in place to cater for the increase in the number of commuters expected to use public transport to avoid paying the increased toll price.

Will a higher toll encourage you to take public transport during peak times when crossing the Harbour? We’d especially like to hear from those who regularly make the trip.

The Sydney Harbour Bridge has joined the Sydney Harbour Tunnel in being completely cashless, with the last cash tolls in the bridge’s 77 year history being collected on the morning of 11 January 2009. An e-tag or pass is now needed to make the southbound journey.

The RTA claims that “making the Bridge fully cashless will help improve traffic conditions and ease congestion.” 160,000 vehicles make the trip each day with approximately 2000 vehicles able to move through the e-lane each hour, compared to 400 in the cash lane.

For anybody who does not have an e-tag but wants to make the journey south across the bridge, you can contact the RTA on 131 865 prior to your journey to acquire a pass or within 48 hours of your trip to arrange payment.

Should regular users of the Sydney Harbour Bridge be required to use an e-tag or pass, or should there be a cash option?

Have you noticed an improvement in traffic conditions since the cash tolls were removed?