When the Sydney Harbour Tunnel opened for traffic on 31 August 1992, the separate classification for motorcycles disappeared.

This was direct result of the "Private-Public Partnership" (PPP) funding arrangements entered into by State government

Motorcycles were not considered at all in the planning for private toll roads under "PPP" arrangements.

Motorcycles do not exist in traffic counts, hence have been invisible to public policy. This affects road safety, parking and tolls.

Motorcycles are currently lumped in with cars as an afterthought and required to pay as if they were a car.
This failure of transport planning has been gouging motorcyclists since 1992.

For the purposes of the Roads and Traffic Act, a motorcycle is classified as a vehicle with two axles and therefore is required to pay the same rate of toll as a car.

A bicycle is also defined as a vehicle with two axles for the purposes of the relevant Acts and therefore is also subject to tolls This is not enforced, so bicycles go free and also pay no parking charges.

By the same definition that places a motorcycle in "Class 2", a car with fully independent suspension is classified as having four axles and hence should be charged at the rate of a truck.

The definitions show no consistency in application or interpretation. Some commonsense would be welcome.

Prior to the Harbour Tunnel opening, a car was charged four times the rate for a motorcycle. This reflected one quarter the size, one-quarter the weight and one quarter the engine size or less.

Motorcycles have a number of advantages to road management

*Lower road space occupancy with small size
*Low road wear with low weight
*Low traffic congestion
*Low exhaust emissions with smaller engines
*Lowered need for more roads and additional lanes

Motorcyclists are happy to pay a toll.
As long as it is a fair and reasonable rate of toll.

Re-establishing the fair and equitable rate for tolls is necessary.

Registration Charges reflect road wear costs.
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If we apply the smaller “footprint”, lower weight and lower road wear of a motorcycle to the toll on the Sydney Harbour Bridge and accept a base charge for the “user pays” principle, a motorcycle should be charged 77 cents, instead of $3.30, the rate for a car.

Cash paying toll booths can process around 600 vehicles per hour. Cashless E-toll can speed this up to around 2,000 vehicles per hour. Cash paying motorcyclists are around 100 per hour due to the difficulties in handling change.

One of the complaints directed to motorcyclists by car drivers is the length of time it takes to pay a toll, because the rider must remove their glove to retrieve coins from their pocket.

No suitable or safe electronic transponder system has been made available for motorcyclists.

Riders are happy to utilise a “single coin” policy for paying tolls with cash. It makes sense to charge motorcycles $1 for the toll on the Sydney Harbour Bridge and commercial motorways. A single coin can be more readily handled by a motorcyclist to enable efficient toll collection at improved rates of throughput.

However, automatic cashless systems are capable of charging the exact rate to fractions of a cent.

When E-tags are usable by motorcyclists, it is expected that this policy would be implemented.

Current E-tags are dangerous and extremely difficult to use, resulting in unreliability and additional charges due to failure of inappropriate technology. (see E-Tags - menu item in left sidebar)