Melbourne Travel Forum

I have recently bought a GPS and love it, can select to avoid toll roads if | wish too, but does using a toll road cut a lot off the distance? Are you only notified that it,s a toll road once you are on it and cannot turn off? Is there something I can buy, that will last a long time, and pay the toll if necessary.

Using the toll areas does cut off heaps of time in travel to the city and outer suburbs.
You are notified before the toll, lots of signs and also on that sign there is the phone number you can ring, you ring this within 24 hours to register your car and pay for the days you have used it.
Weekend passes are available, day passes, multi day passes etc.
Or if you have the rego number of the car( not hiring) you can register this with Citylink and use your credit card, then if you happen to go through a toll area you are automatically charged.
Coming from the airport ( Tullamarine) it's the best way to get into the city and other suburbs.
Check out this link.

http://www.citylink.com.au/

PS.. if you are coming into the Tulla airport you can buy a ticket there for the toll, the machines are near the car rental areas.

The toll roads are great and can save lots of time.
I got on one by mistake last week (it's a long time since I lived in Melb) without a pass and just rang and paid. I could have gone to the local newsagent and paid there too. Check out places near where you are staying that sell passes just in case.

whereis.com, a route planning site for Australia, will plan routes for you with or without tolls.

On 29th June EastLink will open - that's the new tollway that goes from Mitcham to Frankston (about 40 km). It will be toll free for 4 weeks. See http://www.eastlink.com.au/ for costs etc. Any eTag will work on the EastLink tollway, but there may be a surcharge.

CityLink has been open for about 6 or 7 years and has really cut travel time, but the roads on eith side are clogged with those avoiding the tolls. Worst are Toorak Road and Mt Alexander Road.

Suggest for non Victorians coming here and using their own cars that you ring and get one of the passes that electronically lets you use the tollways without being fined (fines are pretty steep). I've heard that CityLink have been quite generous to non Victorians and just let them off with a warning - that strange number plate does help - LOL

Thank you very much for your replies, driving in Melbourne for me is very daunting, I will register with citylink when I plan my next trip over there and face the tollroads!

I was used to doing it on the Internet.
Link:

https://www.citylink.com.au/pages/secure/PassPurchase/index.jsf