mouse that roared

Tollway firm's foot to floorLiam Houlihan

November 13, 2006 12:00am
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TOLLWAY company Transurban has become the mouse that roared, with a boom in local customers bankrolling a global expansion.

Traffic in the company's Melbourne corridor has risen constantly every year since 2000 as the number of CityLink accounts has more than doubled, from 372,000 to 765,000.
And e-tag beeps have been increasing by about 10 million a year.

The most heavily used areas are now the toll points at either end of the tollway at Tullamarine Freeway near Moreland Rd, and Monash Freeway near Toorak Rd.

CityLink spokeswoman Jane Calvert said there had been a trend towards longer trips. "There is an increase in customers using the link from end to end," she said.

From its Melbourne base, Transurban's infrastructure has expanded to two Sydney tollways and a tollway in Virginia, in the United States.

It is also set to run two HOT lanes -- faster, tolled lanes built next to congested free lanes -- in Washington, DC.

Future local initiatives include extending tolls to motorbikes and customers, using a scannable CityLink pass to pay for car parks, groceries or fast food.

The company has promised bikers they will be notified four months before they are tolled.

One route Transurban is adamant it won't be going down is introducing cheaper off-peak tolls in Melbourne.

FRENCH and Canadian investors have also profited handsomely from the boom times on Melbourne's tolled roads.

Cogent Nominees, which has a number of French directors and is the local division of a French bank, has 14 million Transurban shares.

RBC Dexia, the local wing of the Royal Bank of Canada, has 26 million shares in Transurban.
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