TOLL ROADS: SOME AUSTRALIAN EXPERIENCE

Australian experience in toll roads has been varied and progressive. From public funded toll roads in the early days, privately funded toll roads and bridges are common in recent times. The issues confronting the joint-ownership of toll roads are complex. Analyses of the past and present toll roads in Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria contribute to a better understanding of toll practices not always covered by traditional toll theory. Generally, private toll roads in Australia are of high quality and give fast travel. Less is known if toll pricing is guided by marginal costing although all toll systems penalise the larger and heavier vehicles in the name of equity. Vital to the success of tolling lies the need for reliable traffic prediction systems, and current models often fall short of expectations. It has been found politically unacceptable to impose road charges on existing roads; toll collection would have to be on totally new roads. The cost of toll collection is about 46 per cent of the revenue in two cases reviewed. Technologies for automatic tolling to improve efficiency should be seriously considered by road and transport authorities. What produces a perfectly acceptable and viable toll system has yet to be discovered. The best system could be a strategic mix of political will and manoeuvre of community attitudes. (A) For the covering entry of this conference, see IRRD abstract no. 843369.