Ute owners slugged much more for toll roads than heavier 4WD wagon

The owner of a ute which weighs less than a four-wheel-drive wagon is being charged at least a 40 per cent higher toll.

Utes in Queensland and Victoria are classified as a light commercial vehicle while the 4WD wagon is classed as a car.

The Victorian government is being petitioned to change the toll rules to stop slugging tradies and farmers with extra costs.

Transport Matters MP Rodney Barton has launched the online petition saying the tolls on privately owned utes were excessive.

Mr Barton calculates it is 46pc more expensive to drive a ute on a toll road than a 4WD wagon.

The same disparity occurs on Queensland's toll roads where utes visiting urban areas are designated a class 3 vehicle, while a car (including the 4WD) is class 2.

For example, a car using the Toowoomba bypass pays $2.38 per trip while a ute pays $5.90.

Or a car using the Tullamarine Freeway in Melbourne pays $2.82 per trip, but a ute pays $4.82.

The costs in the only other state to have toll roads, NSW, is the same for utes and cars because of broader categories.

In NSW, cars, utes and motorbikes fall within class A (less than 12.5m in length), while buses and trucks are in the dearer class B.

For instance in Queensland and Victoria, a popular Mitsubishi Pajero is considered a car although it weighs more than a Toyota Hilux.

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The Hilux pays 40pc or more in tolls.

Mr Barton has already won support from the Sporting Shooters Association of Australia's Victoria branch which said utes were "the vehicle of choice for lots of shooters due to their versatility and practicality".

Other 4WD groups have campaigned on the issue as well.

But utes, whether 4WD or not, still had to pay more than wagons.

Mr Barton said wagons were heavier and more expensive vehicles compared to most utes.

"This system is incredibly unfair to families and imposes a significant financial burden on young apprentice tradespeople who drive utes. There is a need for review.

"Utes are common family vehicles and to classify a ute as a light commercial vehicle is unfair."

He has called on the government to change the vehicle classification system so privately owned utes pay the same rates as passenger vehicles on toll roads.

More than 400 people have already signed the petition.

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