State Member for Wallsend, Ms Sonia Hornery MP, will today move a Notice of Motion calling on the Roads and Transport Minister to review the classification of vehicles towing caravans, trailers and boats on the M2 and M7 Motorways.
Late last year, the operator of the toll road, Transurban, changed the classification of passenger vehicles towing a caravan, boat or trailer from category A to category B, meaning vehicles travelling along both roads had their toll charges increase from $15.92 to $47.75.
Under the changes for the M2 and M7 toll roads, a car and caravan that is greater than 12.5 metres in total length and more than 2.8 metres high is now deemed a Class B vehicle, attracting a toll three times that for Class A vehicles such as cars.
Ms Hornery wrote to the Minister, who agreed that the increase was unfair but declined the opportunity to review the classifications. Transurban was subsequently forced to refund all increased tolls between August 2019 and December 2019 for trips charged at the higher Class B toll, but the new classifications are now in effect.
Ms Hornery will today move a Notice of Motion calling on the Minister to reclassify these vehicles back to Category A on both roads.
Quotes attributable to Member for Wallsend, Sonia Hornery
“This has been a very big issue with many people across NSW contacting my office to register their objection to the increase and get copies of the petition that calls on the Minister to overturn this reclassification.”
“In November I wrote to the Minister asking for him to overturn this decision and despite the Minister expressing his disappointment in the decision by Transurban to increase the tolls, he declined the opportunity to reclassify these vehicles back to category A.”
“My office now has thousands of signatures on petitions and more are coming in every day. Many of the people impacted by this increase are grey nomads who are on fixed incomes and simply cannot afford this huge increase in tolls.”
“I will move a Notice of Motion in the Parliament today and try to bring on a debate on the issue in the next sitting week.”
“The Minister needs to listen to the public on this one, not sit on his hands and allow the private company to continue to rip off those who can least afford it.”