MEDIA RELEASE
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14 August, 2017
“Tolling has started on the M4, and Western Sydney is paying for what should still be free,” said the Mayor of Blacktown City, Councillor Stephen Bali.
“Toll company profits are getting a higher priority than public transport planning,” he said.
“The area of Sydney that can least afford it is paying a financial penalty because we have a bad public transport system.
“Western Sydney has made its opinion clearly known, yet the NSW Government simply rides roughshod over our concerns, preferring to provide profits to toll companies than provide its citizens with an effective public transport system.
“The part of Sydney that is most poorly served by public transport is being penalised for having to drive to work.
“The M4 will cost commuters an extra $2,016 a year, which is going to force many families to cut back on other areas of household expenditure in order to be able to get to and from work.
“And it’s not going to get cheaper: each year the toll will rise by 4% - dwarfing the CPI figure of 1.5% or the 1.9% average annual national wage increase.
“Increases that exceed both the CPI and average wages growth will add financial hardship to families across western Sydney.
“Why isn’t tolling technology being used to provide capped tolls, performance based tolls and discounted tolls for people with no public transport alternative?
“This is blatantly unfair, unreasonable and unconscionable. Instead of improving public transport, the NSW government is lining the pockets of toll companies.
“Toll operator Transurban, in the last financial year, generated $2.1 billion in toll revenues and a net profit of $209 million.
“That means every time you hear the beep go off in your car, that’s another 45 cents profit for Transurban.
“And by the way how much tax did they pay? None. They got a $35 million tax refund!
“Remember this every time you’re sitting in bumper to bumper traffic on a toll way.”
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