One of the biggest hassles of driving in Sydney is the tolls. It’s hard to get anywhere without encountering at least one toll road. However, they are a necessary evil as the roads don’t get expanded for free, and without bigger roads there would be even more traffic – that would be a complete nightmare! Despite using toll roads everyday, there might be some facts that surprise you!
- Regular Toll Users Get Free Rego
There’s a new law that has recently come into effect stating that if you spend $25 or more per week on tolls, you may be eligible for free rego. This is to encourage people to continue driving, as building more roads and making current roads bigger would be completely pointless without anyone using them. This is designed so that people are either paying for rego or for weekly toll usage, and not for both. The NSW government also hopes that it will entice more people to use toll roads rather than taking the longer back road options. So, if you use toll roads on a regular basis, this might apply to you!
- M5 Cashback Scheme
This scheme allows NSW residents to get back the value of tolls paid while using a NSW registered vehicle on the M5 motorway. To get money back for M5 tolls you need to have paid the toll using an electronic tolling account and be a NSW resident driving a NSW registered car. You are able to register for cashback at any time by contacting your electronic tolling account provider. The tolls you accumulated before registering for cashback wont be refunded, but every trip using the M5 afterwards will essentially be free!
- LinktGO
If you aren’t a regular user of tolls, having to go through a toll road becomes such an effort. Without an E-tag it can be really difficult to actually pay the toll fees. No one wants to receive letter after letter about unpaid tolls. What you might not know is that there’s now ‘an app for that’! LinktGO is a free app that you download and use to track your trips; all you have to do is type in your licence plate number and using the GPS system in your phone the app will calculate which roads you have used and which tolls you need to pay. This means you avoid any extra fees for not having an E-tag. It’s really easy and saves you from added stress from unpaid toll fines.
Everyone would agree that tolls are really annoying. But, they don’t have to be the main focus of any trip. Hopefully these three tips will save you some money when it comes to travelling around Sydney.
