Toll charges in Melbourne and hiring a car

Are you visiting Melbourne and are you planning on driving around the city? Melbourne has some toll roads and you may not have even thought of how to go about paying toll charges while driving around the big city.

Many rental vehicle companies are fitted with an electronic tag which automatically pays for the tolls. This means you won't have to arrange a pass before renting your vehicle. However, each rental vehicle company's charges for using toll roads may vary, so it's important you check these details with your hire car company before driving away.

However, if your hire car company hasn't organised toll payments for your hire vehicle, you must ensure you pay the toll charge within a certain time frame when using Melbourne's toll roads. Otherwise you face fines from the toll road company, while your rental car company may also charge extra administration fees when you miss payments.

Here’s a quick guide on paying to use Melbourne’s toll roads when you’re hiring a car.

Melbourne has two toll road companies: EastLink and CityLink

EastLink is a continuous toll road which runs from the freeway beginning at Springvale Rd, Nunawading and Frankston Fwy, Seaford.

An EastLink trip pass will grant you a single trip for the fixed price of $5.84, regardless of whether you travel the entire freeway or use the EastLink Freeway for only a few kilometres.

CityLink has three toll roads:

• Batman Ave: between Olympic Boulevard and Flinders St in Melbourne.
• The Southern Link: Monash Fwy between Toorak Rd, Malvern and Power St, Southbank.
• Western Link: between Bell St, Strathmore and West Gate Fwy, Port Melbourne.

There’s also the Melbourne Pass, which is ideal for tourists who are staying in Melbourne for under a month and need to travel on Melbourne’s toll roads. It gives you access to both CityLink and EastLink roads for up to 30 days, with the option of extending the pass. It costs $5.50 to open the pass and each trip incurs a fee depending on the distance you're travelling. You can find out how much you'll pay for each trip by visiting CityLink's toll calculator.

To register your details for a Melbourne pass you’ll need to provide your vehicle registration number and other details either before or within three days of using a toll road for the first time. The bills are charged to your nominated credit card, and you can extent the pass by another month if necessary.

To organise your CityLink pass visit the CityLink website to make online payments or phone 13 26 29.

To organise an EastLink pass, visit the EastLink website to make online payments or call 13 54 65. You can also purchase passes at the Post Office or selected newsagencies but this will incur extra fees.

BRIANNA PIAZZA

Brianna Piazza

Brianna Piazza is an Australian television reporter and part-time travel blogger. Originally from Melbourne, she's currently living in Cairns where she works for WIN News and spends her weekends exploring the outdoors Far North Queensland.

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