Toll roads & Visitor’s e-PASS in Australia

Along with two other couples, my husband, Scott, and I arranged to rent a van in Sydney, Australia, for a week, March 20-26, 2014. We would drive east to the Blue Mountains and then north as far as Port Macquarie before returning the van in Sydney.

We picked up the vehicle from East Coast Car Rental (200 O’Riordan St., Mascot, NSW 2020, Australia; phone +61 2 8338 9111, www.eastcoastcarrentals.com.au), located near the Sydney Airport.

While finishing the paperwork, we were told there was a new system in place around Sydney and that the road toll plazas had been removed. For the toll charges, we now had to have an account set up using a tag number from the rental car and a credit card. With the new system, a photo is taken of the license plate (tag) of each car on a toll road, and the toll is charged to the owner of the car.

So that we could set up the account, East Coast provided a phone number (toll free in Australia, 13 7626) at which to reach Roam Express (Parramatta, NSW, Australia; phone +612 9086 6400, www.roamexpress.com.au). We phoned Roam Express, and the process was easy enough.

In our case, the owner of the car was East Coast Car Rental, and they advised us that if they had to look up the record of any car regarding a renter’s toll road infraction, they would charge the renter a fee of AUD10 (near $7.75).

We felt confident that we had all bases covered as we drove from the lot onto the roads of Sydney. 

The first thing we noticed was the inability to determine if a road was or was not a toll road. Throughout the entire trip, we saw only one sign indicating that a road was a toll road. We completed our trip and turned in the van with no indication of any problems.

The next month, on our credit card statement for March, there was a charge for AUD3.30 from Roam Express on March 20. Then our April statement showed another charge from Roam Express, for AUD5.15, this one dated April 30, which was not only after the car was returned but after we had been home a month! We paid both charges and thought the issue was closed.

On June 19 we received a letter saying we owed an additional AUD17.39 for traveling on the M7 on March 20. We went online and put in the toll notice number and the card tag number from the notice. We had already tossed all of the info on the car, which put us at a disadvantage. We tried to link the account number with the number of the last toll notice but gave up. We were going to just pay the charge, but the system wouldn’t let us.

Using the information provided, we emailed Roam (enquiries@roam.com.au) and stated our problem. We were told, “We refer to your enquiry regarding Toll Notice XXXXX. We are pleased to advise that no further action is required for this Toll Notice.” This was music to our ears!

On Aug. 12 we received another letter stating that we owed AUD 17.39. Again we emailed Roam, receiving the following reply on Aug. 28: “We are pleased to advise that this Toll Notice has been dismissed and no further action is required. If you require further assistance with this matter, please do not hesitate to contact us through our website at www.roam.com.au.”

On Sept. 12, our credit card statement arrived with TWO charges (AUD10 each) from East Coast Car Rental. We are paying the bill.

Welcome to Australia and please come back??

SANDRA GRAHAM

Orange, CA

ITN emailed a copy of Ms. Graham’s letter to East Coast Car Rental, which forwarded it to the tolling account provider. ITN also emailed Roam Express (help@roamexpress.com.au) and its parent company, Transurban, and found the replies from both to be helpful, as follows.

Ms. Graham rented a car in Sydney, New South Wales (NSW), and only travelled in New South Wales. 

The vehicle nominated on Ms. Graham’s Visitor’s e-PASS was “549SJI NSW.” (That was the registration number that Ms. Graham filled in on her Visitor’s e-PASS form after getting the car. — Editor)

However, the vehicle travelling on the motorway was “549SJI QLD.” (For some reason, the incorrect state-code suffix was entered on the form. “NSW,” for “New South Wales,” was entered, but the car’s actual registration number ended in “QLD,” for “Queensland.”)

As the licence plate travelling on the motorway could not be matched to the licence plate noted on the Visitor’s e-PASS, Toll Notices were issued.

The Roam Express Visitor’s e-PASS is valid Australia-wide. However, the details of the licence plate travelling on the road must match the details held on the PASS.

Roam Express and Roam are tolling account providers and, while subsidiaries of the same company, operate separately. Roam Express deals with Toll Notices on behalf of Hills M2, Lane Cove Tunnel, Eastern Distributor and Cross City Tunnel. Roam deals with Toll Notices issued on behalf of Westlink M7. 

Sandra had dealings with both companies. She hired her vehicle and established a Visitor’s e-PASS with Roam Express, as advised by the car rental company. She received Toll Notices for her travel on Westlink M7, and that query was handled at Roam Tolling.

Customers are sometimes confused between Roam and Roam Express!

CELINE SMULLEN, Customer Resolutions Specialist, Roam, Locked Bag 5072, Parramatta NSW 2124, Australia

In Ms. Graham’s case, the State of registration of the rental car was Queensland, but the State of registration (that Ms. Graham) provided on the Visitor’s e-PASS (VEP) was New South Wales. 

For most motorways in NSW, this discrepancy is not a concern. However, Westlink M7 requires that both the licence plate number and the State of registration of the vehicle travelling are the same as that held on the VEP. As a result, a Toll Notice was issued on behalf of the motorway. 

Roam Tolling (Westlink M7) has cancelled the Toll Notice without payment of the toll as a gesture of goodwill. The second Toll Notice had progressed to “issue” status before the first was cancelled and was subsequently issued. This was also cancelled.

East Coast Car Rental, the registered owner of the vehicle, charged their customer a handling fee for each Toll Notice. With regard to these fees, I will email Ms. Graham to provide a refund.

For visitors who open accounts or passes to pay their tolls, it is important to ensure the licence plate number and State of registration is correctly held on the account or pass. This is something visitors would need to establish with their car rental company. Also, it is important to ensure the validity period is correct. 

It should be noted that payment for tolls often transact on the credit card after the pass has expired.

The Roads & Maritime Services (RMS) have an excellent website (www.sydneymotorways.com) which provides general information relating to motorways in New South Wales.

Websites for individual Visitor’s e-PASS providers for travel in NSW are www.roam.com.au,  www.roamexpress.com.au,  www.m5motorway.com.au and www.myrta.com. 

The RMS regulate signage on roads in NSW, and all roads that are toll roads are marked with the appropriate signage.

ALISON CROSWELLER, Senior Public Affairs Consultant, Public Affairs, Transurban, Level 9, 1 Chifley Square, Sydney, NSW 2000, Australia

Ms. Graham informed ITN that when a representative of Transurban contacted her to offer reimbursement for the last two AUD10 handling fees charged by the rental company, she replied, “Thank you for your offer, but at this time I am not interested in providing my credit card information. I am just hoping any additional charges will not occur.”