An unpaid toll can potentially
leave motorists hundreds of
dollars out of pocket, and even
facing imprisonment
STORYNICOLA FIELDMY MONEYROAD TOLLS
T
hecurrentwaveofinfrastructuredevelop-
ment taking place across many Australian
citiesisseeingthenumberoftollroads
expand rapidly. It means improved travel
for motorists, though this convenience
cancomeataremarkablyhighprice.Leaveatollunpaid
andyoucanfacearaftoffeesandchargesfarbeyondthe
value of the outstanding toll.
Asaguidetothepossiblefinancialfalloutofunpaid
tolls, in early 2016TheAgereportedthecaseofawoman
whoamassed$50,000worthofunpaidtollsandassoci-
ated charges.
It came about through a combination of personal factors
includingthebirthofanewbaby,acancerdiagnosis,a
change of address and the woman’s partner driving for
eight months across Melbourne’s tollways without an
e-tag. The situation reached crisis point when a sheriff
appeared at her home with a warrant for her arrest.
Thismaybeanextremeexamplebutinonecase
referred to the Tolling Customer Ombudsman (TCO) a
driver received 17 invoices for unpaid tolls over a five-day
period–eachinvoiceattractingitsown$21.32adminis-
tration fee. It meant he owed almost $400, of which tolls
comprisedjust$30.
To understand how drivers can find themselves in
this nightmare scenario, it’s worth looking at how the
toll system works.
Australiahas16tollroadsinthreestates–Victoria,
Queensland and NSW. The vast majority of these, 13 in all,
are owned or part-owned by the publicly listed company
Transurban.Forthetollgiant,user-payroadsareasolid
earner. In the 2015-16 financial year alone Transurban’s
tollrevenuerose17.5%to$1.9billion.
Formotoristsplanningtousetollroads,preparation
paysoff.Oursystemofcashlesstollroadsmakesan
electronic tag (e-tag) or pass a must-have to be sure tolls
arepaidontime.
Theseneedtobesetupbeforetravel,otherwisea
three-day grace period applies in which drivers can pay
the toll online without incurring additional charges. The
problemisthatit’sveryeasytooverlookthisstep.The
big memory jogger can be a letter arriving in the mail
demanding payment.
It can take up to a month after the date of travel for tollA motorist
received 17
notices in
fivedaysfor
unpaid tolls,
each with
a$21.32
admin fee