Suburbs with Australia’s highest tolls revealed – realestate.com.au

Suburbs have been revealed where motorists are paying the highest tolls – and the data shows those who have fled expensive inner areas for cheaper homes in the suburbs are facing the worst costs.

The iSelect modeling used the Linkt Toll Calculator and the Google Routes API to map out how much commuters in different areas paid for each minute of travel saved on a toll road via a free alternative route.

It found that in some areas, drivers paid between $1 and $7 for every minute they saved by driving on a faster-moving toll road.

Parts of Melbourne and Sydney tended to have the most expensive roads and most popular travel routes, but major roads in Brisbane were also becoming a costly burden for commuters.

Some of the worst affected drivers were in Sydney’s Hills District and Hornsby region and in Melbourne, in the city’s north.

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Drivers have to pay high amounts to avoid traffic jams. Photo: Gaye Gerard

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Adrian Bennett, general insurance manager at iSelect, said the choice between a long drive in traffic or an expensive toll route was affecting the quality of life for suburban residents.

“In the long run, high tolls threaten to worsen inequality,” Bennett said.

“Those who cannot absorb the additional costs will have to travel longer, which can impact work-life balance, well-being and overall quality of life.”

Digital Finance Analytics analyst Martin North said tolls were putting extra pressure on households already facing mortgage stress. This was especially the case in the suburbs, where homeowners often had high mortgage payments relative to their income.

“The cost of living continues to rise and for those living on the outskirts of major cities like Sydney, tolls are a particular burden,” North said.

SYDNEY ROADS

Drivers in Sydney faced some of the highest toll premiums in Australia, with commuters traveling through the Ryde, Sutherland and Canterbury-Bankstown region having to pay up to $1.70 for every minute saved during peak hours.

Areas including the districts of Hornsby and The Hills had the highest total toll costs, possibly exceeding $29 per journey, while longer commutes through the Camden and Ku-ring-gai areas tended to offer better value for money, with savings of less than $1 per minute.

NSW SUBURBES WHERE DRIVERS PAY THE MOST

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Sydney was the most expensive city in the country in terms of tolls when looking at average road tolls.

MELBOURNE ROADS

Drivers in Melbourne generally pay much less per minute saved than those in Sydney, but shorter inner city routes in the Boroondara and Whitehorse areas remain the most expensive, costing around $7.35 per minute saved, during both peak and off-peak times.

Longer suburban commutes passing through the Whittlesea, Brimbank and Casey areas can offer much better value, ranging from $1 to $2.50 per minute saved, thanks to longer travel distances and fewer toll segments.

During off-peak hours, toll efficiency drops slightly. Drivers traveling through the Moonee Valley area typically saved about $4.22 per minute.

SUBURBS OF VICTORIA WHERE DRIVERS PAY THE MOST

Source: iSelect analysis.

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Longer journeys through the Yarra Ranges, Macedon Ranges and Hume areas tended to be the most cost effective, costing $1.30-$1.80 per minute.

AUSTRALIA’S PRIEST ROADS

The iSelect data also revealed what the country’s most expensive toll roads are in terms of total costs and how devastating they can be to the wallets of those who have to use them frequently.

Most of the most expensive toll roads were in Sydney and Melbourne and tended to impact those commuting from further afield to the inner areas.

Sydney had several toll roads that cost more than $10 per trip, while Victoria’s CityLink, which connected the airport and the city, took the crown as Australia’s most expensive road at $12.25 per trip.

Sydney’s WestConnex M4 highway was the second most expensive toll in the country at $10.38 per journey. It was also the nation’s highest-grossing toll road, generating an estimated $1.88 billion in revenue annually.

MOST EXPENSIVE ROADS

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The WestConnex M4 Motorway is the lifeblood of Western Sydney, connecting some of the city’s few more affordable housing markets with employment centers such as Parramatta and the Sydney CBD.

WestConnex also had the strongest increase in tolls in the country, at 12.3 percent per year, according to the iSelect analysis.

Measured by price per kilometer, the country’s most expensive road was Queensland’s Go Between Bridge, a 300-metre road connecting Brisbane’s South Bank to the inner city bypass at Milton.

Road travel cost as much as $13.50 per kilometer, the iSelect analysis found.