Sydney Harbour Bridge toll to rise for first time in 14 years

Tolls on Sydney’s Harbour Bridge and Tunnel will increase for the first time in more than 14 years.

Motorists will pay more from October 29, with tolls increasing by 6.8 per cent, as the NSW government looks to make the road system fairer.

The cost of using the bridge will rise from $4.00 to $4.27 during peak times, weekdays between 6.30- 9.30am and 4-7pm.

Off-peak charges will go from $3.00 to $3.20, and from $2.50 to $2.67 at night.

All extra revenue will go to funding the government’s toll relief budget package which caps weekly toll costs at $60 for about 720,000 drivers.

The package is estimated to save motorists in the most tolled suburbs an average of up to $540 a year.

Roads minister John Graham said it was appropriate to increase tolls to help cover the costs of road use elsewhere.

“No toll increase is ever welcome, but this increase is helping to provide toll relief to other drivers,” he said.

“Drivers in Western Sydney who have little choice but to use motorways for their commute and family travel have endured annual – and in many cases quarterly – toll increases since 2009 while the bridge and tunnel tolls remained fixed.”

Bridge and tunnel tolls are required by law to be reviewed annually but were not touched during the past twelve years of coalition government.

Meanwhile the cost of using roads in the city’s west, many of which are owned by private company Transurban, has surged.