Are you going to pay for the new Toll Road?

[Slyer]

Maybe it takes photos of your numberplates from the front and this is the reason?
Downloading this video now:
http://www.landtransport.govt.nz/tollroad/index.html

[ManDownUnder]

Maybe it takes photos of your numberplates from the front and this is the reason?

Exactly - closely followed by someone sitting there pouring over the film working out the payback on billing bikes if they spend however much to install cameras to take photos from behind instead.

I can't see it ever happening personally - my money says it's free for life. 3 reasons:
1) The payback on extra camers would be such a long time
2) They can't really say "sorry bikes - you're not allowed on this road" - you have to go the long way
3) The logistics of extending the toll booth shutes so it's possible to actually take a photo of the bike plates, and then reconciling two images and billing each car only once (ignoring one of the images) would be aweful. Possible - but aweful!

... enjoy!

[Slyer]

Who wants to be the first to find out if you can get a speeding ticket from them?

[Mully]

Who wants to use the toll road (except maybe once to try it out and if I were commuting that way) on a bike?

Keep the horrible cars and trucks on the boring straight bit of motorway and gift the curvy roads back to motorcyclists.

Bliss.

[Slyer]

Exactly - closely followed by someone sitting there pouring over the film working out the payback on billing bikes if they spend however much to install cameras to take photos from behind instead.

I can't see it ever happening personally - my money says it's free for life. 3 reasons:
1) The payback on extra camers would be such a long time
2) They can't really say "sorry bikes - you're not allowed on this road" - you have to go the long way
3) The logistics of extending the toll booth shutes so it's possible to actually take a photo of the bike plates, and then reconciling two images and billing each car only once (ignoring one of the images) would be aweful. Possible - but aweful!

... enjoy!

Ah nope sorry, just watched the video. It shows photos being taken of both the front and rear numberplate.
I guess they really are just being nice to us!

[Mully]

Ah nope sorry, just watched the video. It shows photos being taken of both the front and rear numberplate.
I guess they really are just being nice to us!

Or they could be finally recognising that motorcyclists damage the roads less, and cause less congestion

[firefighter]

bugger, if they were going to have a cash lane, I was going to go through, stop, take off all my gear including helmet, lift up seat, take out wallet, realise no money in there, put back under seat, take $2 out of jacket pocket put it in the slot, put all my gear back on nice and slow like and then proceed on lol.

[Big Dave]

There was an article in the Sydney press recently that said some commuters are now paying $150 a week in tolls to get to work.

One of the Toll roads has also forced the private ownership cartel into bankruptcy because too may people have said 'f*** that' and don't use them.

[ManDownUnder]

I guess they really are just being nice to us!

Interesting - but I doubt it. There's a good reason they're not charging us... and it's not a sudden dose of "nice". Isn't this is the same crowd that have us ticketed for using bus lanes on motorways?

I'm still putting my money on a technical reason.

[Ixion]

Despite their high tech cameras I suspect that bikes would be hard to pickup.

We cannot be relied on to be central in the lane, our plates are often on an angle , are at oddball heights and so on. Not to mention that we may not be going in a straight line when we go past the cameras.

I'm sure that they will have discussed the question of bikes at the planning stages. And, I suspect, concluded "Well, let's just charge them. Probably a fair percentage will evade the toll and get away with it, but that's still a small absolute number. Easier not to have exceptions". Then when we complained they decided "Oh well, in dollars terms they amount to bugger all. Let it go".

Nobody has mentioned trailers. The system relies on automated matching of plate numbers (read the plates as the go past, have the puter match those numbers with the numbers of people who paid , spit out a list of non matches). But surely a trailer will break it. The toll will be paid on the car but no toll will be paid on the trailer? Or do they charge a separate toll for the trailer? What about B trains, surely they must pay for the trailer?

I wonder how accurate this electronic matching of numbers will be anyway.

[ManDownUnder]

I wonder how accurate this electronic matching of numbers will be anyway.

Nothing a bit of white paint and black electrical tape can't bugger up eh?

[Tank]

I wonder how accurate this electronic matching of numbers will be anyway.

Its hugely accurate. They have used the same technology in London for years - first with the "Ring of Steel" around the city, and now with conjestion charging.

I'd bet that they are well, well covered.

[rickstv]

How about local livestock trucking companies who's plates are covered in crap and usually unreadable? This could be a loophole,just muddy our plates. Sorry officer, didn't wash the bike this week.

[Slyer]

They get a fine for not displaying number plate.

[Ixion]

Nothing a bit of white paint and black electrical tape can't bugger up eh?

No indeed. That would be illegal. whereas, a jacket or overtrousers bungied to the rear guard - well, if an errant sleeve or leg happens to fall down across the plate, well, the rider can hardly be blamed for that . And the beauty of it is , that at speed it will blow clear thus avoiding snakey attention.