NSW Parliament will debate the reintroduction of the M4 toll, after more than 10,000 signatures were collected across western Sydney, including from Blue Mountains residents.
The Labor Party is urging the Berejiklian Government to bring forward the debate at the earliest possible time before the tolls kick in in the middle of the year.
“This is a tax targeted squarely at Blue Mountains and western Sydney motorists,” said opposition roads spokeswoman, Jodi McKay
“Communities across western Sydney and the Blue Mountains are furious about this and we have 10,000 signatures to prove it.”
Blue Mountains MP Trish Doyle described the new toll as “a kick in the guts”.
“At the same time as they cut scheduled train services to and from Penrith, which will add a huge burden to Blue Mountains line trains, they slug motorists using the M4 with a huge new tax on commuting to work. People in the Blue Mountains are damned either way,” she added
With an each-way toll of up to $4.56, five-day-a-week commuters face paying an extra $2188 a year to travel on the M4.
All petitions presented to NSW Parliament with 10,000 signatures or more must be formally debated.