CEO defends cost of tolls and efficiency of NorthConnex
Transurban is seeing more heavy vehicles on its toll roads, according to its first-half results.
But the heavy vehicle performance was uneven, with Sydney’s heavy vehicle traffic down 3.7 per cent for the first six months of a financial year.
But Melbourne large vehicles rose 3 per cent, much higher than cars, which were up 0.7 per cent.
In Brisbane, large vehicles were up 3.1 per cent and car traffic increased 3.7 per cent.
The cities also diverge markedly in the percentage of traffic made up of “large vehicles”.
In Brisbane, it was around 22 per cent, in Melbourne a bit more than 19 per cent and Sydney S.5 per cent
Toll revenue growth in Sydney was 10.8 per cent on 2.2 per cent of traffic growth, in Melbourne it was 3.7 per cent on 1.1 per cent and Brisbane 6.6 per cent on 3.6 per cent.
Read about the deep industry concern at the forced NorthConnex toll, here
The New South Wales’ government’s penalty strategy that aims to force trucks not doing local work to use the company’s NorthConnex toll road has now surfaced in the mainstream media.
Transurban CEO Scott Charlton repeated the truck operations savings mantra that the industry has serious reservations about, given freeways are often congested heavily, but said penalties are a state government issue.
The fine for non-use is $200 but it is reported demerit points are not included.
Transurban’s first half saw the toll-road operations and construction behemoth post a 10 per cent rise in profits to $162 million including from US operations, up from the previous year’s first half of $145 million.
Many of its tolls cannot be lowered as a result of deflation.