Drivers are being asked how much they are willing to pay to travel on motorways such as the $16.8 billion WestConnex as the state government investigates implementing consistent distance-based tolling across the Sydney network.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Market research firm TNS Social Research is being paid more than $200,000 to undertake "customer market testing" to help Transport NSW formulate "an approach to tolling and price levels".
The work, over 10 weeks to the beginning of August, comes as the NSW government prepares to reintroduce a toll for drivers on the M4 between Parramatta and Homebush associated with the 33-kilometre WestConnex project.
The new toll, which will be imposed from mid-2017, will be distance based, like the M7, and motorists will pay between $1.63 and $4.21 per trip.
The prospect of a distance-based tolling system was raised in the government's long term transport masterplan published in December 2012.
The masterplan identified distance-based charging on new or upgraded motorways was "a way of raising revenue for new infrastructure and/or lessening congestion".
It argued such a system was fairer, as how much motorists pay currently depends on where they live, due to different tolling structures.
"Developing new road tolling options is a significant undertaking and will require discussions with the community and major contract renegotiations with current motorway owners and future developers," the masterplan noted.
Transport for NSW deputy secretary, customer services, Tony Braxton-Smith said the agency "plans to investigate a consistent distance-based tolling regime for Sydney motorways, to help deliver the high-quality roads NSW needs."
"This will involve gathering the views of the community, private sector tollway operators and technical experts about options for tolling the Sydney motorway network on a consistent basis," he said.
However Mr Braxton-Smith said the research would not examine drivers' attitudes to congestion charges or time of day tolling.
"The NSW government does not support congestion charges and has repeatedly ruled out imposing congestion charging or new time-of-day tolling on motorists," he said.
A contract summary published by Transport for NSW says TNS Social Research will be paid an estimated $203,500 for the work.
Mr Braxton-Smith said the work was being outsourced as Transport for NSW "does not have the internal resources to undertake this level of customer research".
It comes amid increasing concerns that drivers will shift to free roads to avoid paying the new tolls on the WestConnex, which is due for completion in 2023.
The environmental impact statement for the M4 widening found that the reintroduction of a toll on the M4 was likely to force motorists onto alternative free routes such as Parramatta Road and Victoria Road.
In November last year similar findings were made in the EIS for another section of the WestConnex, the new M5 tunnel between Beverley Hills and St Peters.
It predicts some off-peak traffic will shift to parallel routes along King Georges Road, Stoney Creek Road, Forest Road and Canterbury Road to avoid a toll on the M5 East and the new tunnel, expected to be about $6.
