NRMA slams toll-free backflip on Westconnex

The NRMA has today slammed the NSW Government’s decision to open WestConnex to the public while ignoring a key recommendation of the David Richmond review into the future of toll roads in NSW – a toll-free period. 

The 2005 Richmond Review, launched after extensive campaigning by the NRMA, called for a mandatory toll-free period to help the public become familiar with new toll roads and allow them to make an informed choice about whether they would pay the toll or use free alternatives.

The NSW Government’s decision to ignore this crucial recommendation over concerns about traffic volumes would be the first time Sydney would be exposed to a new toll road without a toll-free period. 

NRMA spokesperson Peter Khoury said the Government needed to reconsider its position immediately.

“This decision sends a terrible message to the people of Sydney – it says we have built a new motorway that can’t cope with traffic,” Mr Khoury said.

“The NRMA campaigned for and remains strong supporters of the WestConnex project – it is vital to the future of our city that this crucial piece of infrastructure succeeds – however this is hardly the start we wanted to see.

"There’s a reason the Richmond Review called for mandatory toll-free periods because these projects ultimately belong to the people of NSW.

“After the debacle of the Cross City Tunnel, which opened with local streets closed to funnel traffic into the toll road and exorbitant tolls, it was crucial that the needs of the customer be put first. That’s why this decision by the Government is wrong and needs to be reversed immediately.”