It seems that state governments have discovered another way of ripping off hapless motorists. By making toll roads cashless, governments are forcing motorists to obtain electronic tolling tags (E-tags), because the procedure for paying tolls via the Internet is both very inconvenient and attracts additional fees.
The problem with having an E-tag automatically paying the tolls is that the horrendous cost of tolls doesn't have an impact on motorists at the time, which leads to complacency. This is a good example of social engineering. If motorists had to pull over at toll booths every time and dip into their pockets to pay more than $22 cash for a trip to the airport and back, they would quickly reassess the situation and probably make an effort to avoid toll roads after the first time they were stung by such iniquitous charges.
But the government and toll road operators know that people do not realise how they are being ripped off when being tolled automatically and this is the prime reason why the government is pushing for all toll roads to be cashless. Not only is it far cheaper for them to rip money from motorists if they don't need people to manually collect tolls, but people become unaware of the rapidly mounting bills they incur with electronic tolling.
By all means, get an E-tag if you need one, but make sure you get the RTA E-Toll tag, because it is free and does not incur charges like some of the others that are issued by the toll road operators. However, always realise that every time it beeps as you enter and exit a toll road, IT IS COSTING YOU MONEY and the amount adds up very quickly.
One of the most sobering ways to realise what toll roads really cost is for motorists to add up the toll charges on their credit card statements over the period of a year. When they discover that all those tag beeps have cost them around $50 to $100 per week to save a few minutes, adding up to between $2500 and $5000 per year that could have easily been avoided, then it really makes good financial sense for motorists to completely shun toll roads.
It has been estimated that motorists have been conned of more than $100 million in needless up-front payments to tollway operators, as thousands rush to obtain E-tags. The Daily Telegraph newspaper has revealed that E-tag providers, including the RTA, have taken $58 million in $40 security deposits, which are unlikely to ever be returned.
The security deposit is demanded in NSW, even though tag providers interstate, including Victoria's Breeze and Queensland's E-toll, do not require the same fee. At least another $50 million in minimum balances is held by the three E-tag providers, due to toll accounts requiring a minimum $20, with some requiring $50 before being topped up from credit cards.
This iniquitous situation arises because the NSW government knows well that literally the only time that an E-tag is returned for a deposit refund is only when the motorist relocates overseas or dies. On the E-way website it is stated that the $40 deposit is forfeited even when the tag is stolen.
In NSW, each week thousands of motorists have been rushing to sign up for E-tags, with the announcement that the Harbour Bridge's last tollbooth will be closed in January 2008. Motorists living in the greater Sydney metropolitan area, especially along the northern beaches, literally have no choice but to obtain E-tags.
Quite rightly, the NSW motoring association NRMA has demanded that E-tags be free. NRMA senior policy adviser Mark Wolstenhome said: "It is a significant amount of money being held by toll road operators. We've long said the tags should be free." But as usual, NSW politicians and their cronies have their noses in the trough yet again and rip off the taxpayer by being allocated free E-tags and are exempt from paying tolls.
An article in the NSW Daily Telegraph newspaper revealed that an elite group of politicians and others receive free E-tags and free travel on toll roads, while the rest of us just keep forking out our hard-earned money to drive on these same roads. It's an utter disgrace that would make any NSW motorist sick to the stomach. Read on:
It's fast become one of the biggest imposts on families - the proliferation of toll roads adding hundreds of dollars to our monthly travel bills. But The Daily Telegraph has uncovered a secret gold mine of free E-tags within the Government and NSW bureaucracy, where MPs, judges and public servants use toll roads for free. While taxpayers receive no salary adjustment for toll road travel, they are footing a bill of $5175 a week for the E-tag costs of an elite group of motorists including judges, ministers, ex-premiers and transport executives.
As ordinary commuters stump up $85.50 a week to travel from the Hills District into the city for work, the RTA has rewarded 212 of its staff with company cars and E-tags, paid for by the taxpayer, as part of their salaries. Their toll bills have skyrocketed from $41,511 in the 2004/2005 financial year to an astronomical $111,827 in the financial year to May this year, according to figures obtained under Freedom of Information.
Chief Justice Jim Spigelman, on a salary of $357,950, is exempt for life from paying Harbour Bridge and tunnel tolls. Former premier Bob Carr, now earning $1 million a year at Macquarie Bank, cost the taxpayer $2864 in tolls between July 2006 and May this year while former Liberal premier Nick Greiner, chairman of Cross City Tunnel builders Baulderstone Hornibrook, claimed $5001 in the same period.
Among government ministers, Reba Meagher and Joe Tripodi ran up bills in their ministerial cars second only to Premier Morris Iemma. The vehicles are registered in the ministers' names and available for their private and official use. Small Business and Ports Minister Mr Tripodi's E-tag bill for that time was $7143 and Health Minister Ms Meagher's bill was $6154, compared to Mr Iemma's E-tag bill of $15,038.
Like Chief Justice Spigelman, judges of the Supreme and District courts enjoy lifetime exemption from Harbour Bridge and tunnel tolls because of what a court spokeswoman said was "an established government convention dating back decades". They all have E-tags fitted in their cars and all but the Chief Justice pay back personal use. The Chief Justice ran up an E-tag bill of $1066 in the seven months between October 2007 and April.
Some judges, like Justice Robert Austin, have made a decision to repay the entire amount, which in his case was $447.80 between October last year and April 2008. "Although the toll exemption is an entitlement, some judges don't access it," a spokeswoman said.
This situation needs to be addressed urgently. The government is forcing motorists to either obtain E-tags or completely avoid using toll roads. CARR advocates the latter, to avoid toll roads where possible, so theoretically, motorists who support the aims of CARR would have no need for E-tags whatsoever.
Unfortunately, even motorists who support the aims of CARR and make it their policy to avoid toll roads, occasionally are forced to use these highway robbers for a number of reasons. Now that virtually all toll roads are cashless, motorists really do need to possess E-tags, because motorists do not have the option of paying tolls in cash at the time of travel.
Therefore, E-tags should be completely free. Toll road operators are saving a fortune by not having to employ toll collectors, so the massive reduction in operating costs from having cashless toll collection should be more than enough for toll road operators to be able to provide E-tags for free.
CARR encourages all motorists to put pressure on toll road operators by firstly trying to send them broke by boycotting all toll roads where possible and also demanding that because toll roads are now cashless, that E-tags should be provided automatically to every registered vehicle in major metropolitan areas and by request to any motorists living outside urban areas.
If NSW motorists are not offered E-tags without the iniquitous $40 security deposit, they can obtain E-tags that will operate on every toll road in Australa completely free of charge from interstate sources. Here are some sources for free E-tags:
www.etoll.com.au - Queensland MotorwaysMore suitable links will be added when they are found.