A truck driver from Western Sydney is refusing to pay for using toll roads – racking up almost $65,000 after four years of refusing to contribute a cent.
Scott Jones uses a toll road to get to and from work five days a week, but refuses to pay to use it.
The father-of-two has bundles of unopened letters mounting up, but said ‘there’s no real point in opening them’.
Scott Jones, a father-of-two, uses a toll road to commute to work each week but refuses to pay
Mr Jones says he is unhappy with the state of the Sydney roading network
‘They can forget it, they’re not getting my money… not even 50 cents,’ Mr Jones told A Current Affair.
‘I’m not going to pay something that’s not more important… than putting food on the table for my kids.’
Commuting to and from work, Mr Jones has clocked up about $60 a day each week, leading to a total of almost $65,000 outstanding.
Part of his reasoning behind not paying the toll is a lack of satisfaction with the city’s roading network.
‘The road’s not up to scratch. You wouldn’t go to a mechanic and fully pay for a half job.’
He said his drive to work should take 10 minutes, but can sometimes take 40 sitting in bumper-to-bumper traffic.
Mr Jones has piles of unopened letters demanding toll payment but refuses to open them
He has racked up almost $65,000 in toll road fees after he paid his last toll four years ago
‘I just use it, I don’t care.’
Mr Jones said he’d rather donate the money to a homeless person that pay the toll.
New South Wales shadow roading minister Jodi McKay said she sympathised with Mr Jones’ situation.
‘People feel that tolls are unfair, they feel they’re unjust.’
Mr Jones uses a toll road to drive to work five days a week, racking up $60 in tolls a day
National Roads and Motoring Association spokesman Peter Khoury warned not paying tolls can come with ‘serious consequences’, including loss of licence.
One of Australia’s largest toll operators – Transurban – collected more than $2 billion in toll fees last year making a profit of $210 million.
Mr Jones said he would rather donate the money to a homeless person than pay the toll