Second toll on small stretch not subject to Cashback
Unlike the Interlink Road tolls, where drivers can claim Cashback, less 10 per cent in GST charges, the new toll in the vicinity of King Georges Road is not refundable but included in the ‘toll relief’ program where drivers can claim a portion of their registration costs.
With both tolls costing around $5 one way – $4.76 for Interlink and $4.56 for WestConnex (if their toll is the same as the M4 and M7), it will cost the daily commuter who only travels between Bexley Road (Kingsgrove) and Bankstown around $500 a quarter for each toll.
While $450 of the Interlink toll at Fairford Road will be refunded under Cashback, leaving the driver about $200 out of pocket a year, the WestConnex annual charge of another $2,000 will only be offset with the rego refund of around $300.
This means for the Bankstown commuter travelling the 8km route back and forth daily, from Bexley Road to Fairford Road, will be out of pocket $1,900 for the year.
Calling it outrageous, Bankstown worker Anne Huntington says: “It’s going to cost so much more just for that eight-kilometre stretch and for what? In fact, the route which used to take about 10 minutes, can now take up to 45 minutes; I’ll soon be taking a different road.”
