Transurban apologises after ACT drivers wrongly billed for Sydney tolls

Transurban has apologised after several ACT drivers reported they had been mistakenly charged for trips on Sydney’s toll roads.

The ASX-listed toll road operator has acknowledged the issue following reports circulating online and on social media, where affected drivers shared instances of being incorrectly billed.

It is now “actively working to improve [its] systems and processes” after the automated number plate recognition (ANPR) system run by its e-tag tolling brand Linkt misidentified certain NSW-registered vehicles as ACT-registered ones.

This occurred due to one of the ACT’s number plate formats being duplicated in NSW “over recent years”, a Transurban spokesperson said.

“While incorrect charges are rare, we understand the inconvenience this causes and are actively working to improve our systems and processes to minimise these occurrences.

“We encourage any customer who believes they’ve been incorrectly charged to contact Linkt so we can resolve the matter promptly."

Transurban’s ANPR system is designed to differentiate between ACT and NSW number plates, but also incorporates other information such as vehicle and trip history, as well as other characteristics, to assist with assessing charges.

Number plate issuance and management in NSW is handled by Transport for NSW. It also operates its own separate e-tag tolling product, E-Toll.

In a statement to iTnews, a Transport for NSW spokesperson said it was aware of only "one ACT-registered vehicle being misidentified as a NSW-registered vehicle by its cameras."

“If a toll road’s automatic number plate recognition system incorrectly identified a NSW-registered vehicle as an ACT-registered vehicle, then that is the source of the error,” a spokesperson said.

The agency added that misidentification is “a very rare occurrence in a system that processes millions of journeys every month.”

“When this does happen, E-Toll acts to resolve issues promptly and provides refunds where appropriate.”