Sydney’s M4 motorway will be going toll free as of midnight tonight after the company operating the toll road State Wide Roads hands over control of the motorway to the state government.
Opinions differ as to whether removing the toll will benefit commuters, with the SMH arguing “Scrapping the M4 toll now would leave a gaping hole in any future congestion management strategy for the city. Retaining it would provide the Government with a tool to effectively manage the use of the road. For example, the traffic volume on the Sydney Harbour Bridge dropped 4.5 per cent when the Government introduced variable tolling depending on the time of day.”
In a report last year an estimated 2,000 new cars are expected to be traveling on the M4 in 2010, with 1500 cars of the projected increase will be from natural growth and 500 from the toll removal, the NSW Auditor-General said in a review of the planned handing back of the toll to public ownership.
“More motorists will want to use the M4 than can fit on it,” NSW Auditor-General Peter Achterstraat said.
A survey of almost 1,300 Sydney motorists by the NRMA concluded that there will not be a significant impact on vehicle numbers using the M4 after the toll is removed.
While three-quarters of people surveyed use the M4, only nine per cent intend to use the motorway more frequently once the toll is removed.
The survey also found broad support (71 per cent) for the Government’s decision to remove the toll in February next year once the contract with the private operator expires. Only 14 per cent wanted the toll kept.
