How about his eTag system – certainly citified with little thought to the country person. I’m all for the e bit which should make a system very versatile but ...
I popped into an RTA just out of the big smoke on our travels to the apple isle. Gave them the story that we would be passing through Sydney and Melbourne so what could we do if we go through the electronic tolls. I was pretty much informed that there was no system in place to cater for this once off travel, right or wrong advice I am not sure. The best they could offer me was a weekly fee that had to go for a minimum of 4 weeks. This involved signing up for a tag, paying for the month, about $25, and if the tag was not returned a weekly fee of $5 from then on. The physical bit of the tag has to be fixed to the front window just in front of the rear vision mirror so the electronic readers can pick you up as you pass in your vehicle. So this is what we had to do (if you wanted to try and do the right thing) in case we went through a toll. Being fairly good at direction and finding my way I simply followed my nose and the signage to get through Sydney to go to Melbourne. All the signs led me through the tolls. Are we surprised, no. Don’t get me wrong I wanted to pay my way but I sure didn’t want to be ripped off and deceived which is essentially what is happening. See without a tag, yes you can drive through the tolls without one, but they take your picture, and you only have 24 hours, or is it 48 to call big brother to arrange payment or they will fine you. Yeah fine you, well we are a nation of convicts I suppose. Can you really blame people for getting annoyed at this crap. I think the fine is $10 so next time I think I will just take my chances and test out their camera system.
If you have read this blog before you would know we broke down on our trip. The vehicle has taken 8 weeks or so to fix and that little tag is stuck on the window.......
