If you drive a Ram 1500 or a Ford F-150 on Melbourne's toll roads, you're paying more than double what a regular car pays. A CityLink day pass for one of these oversized utes costs $52. For a standard car, it's $24.
Shooters, Fishers and Farmers party MP Jeff Bourman reckons that's not fair — and he's launched a parliamentary inquiry to look into it.
Bourman, who drives a Ford Ranger himself, says the problem is that people using these utes as family cars are being charged as if they're commercial vehicles. "The average Tesla weighs way more than the Ford Ranger, so it's not about wear and tear on the roads because the electric vehicles are getting charged a much lesser price," he told parliament.
Ford Rangers weigh between 1.7 and 2.4 tonnes. Teslas sold in Australia range from 1.6 to 2 tonnes. So the weight argument doesn't hold up, Bourman argues.
The inquiry, which has a reporting date of September 30, will look at how Transurban classifies and tolls private use of utility vehicles. Transurban operates CityLink and other Melbourne toll roads.
"Melbourne motorists paid $1 billion in tolls in the past financial year," Bourman said. "CityLink's financial year 2025 revenue was $987 million, or around $2.7 million a day, up 4.1 per cent from $948 million in financial year 2024."
In NSW, utes are classified as class 2 motor vehicles and pay the same toll as smaller passenger cars. Bourman wants Victoria to follow suit.
Former MP and taxi and gig worker advocate Rod Barton said the issue dates back to the original CityLink agreements negotiated under the Kennett government. "It does raise broader questions about the relationship between Transurban and successive Victorian governments and whether motorists are getting a fair deal," he said.
But not everyone agrees. Greens MP Katherine Copsey told the economy and infrastructure committee that she opposes reducing the charge because heavier vehicles cause "exponentially more" damage to roads. She also pointed out that many of these utes are too big for standard parking spaces — even on parliamentary grounds, with vehicles bulging over the sides or taking up two spots.
"If people really do want to choose bigger, more harmful, more polluting vehicles that cost more to run and that increase damage to our road surfaces, that is their choice, but we must consider whether it is something we want to keep subsidising through our public policy," Copsey said.
The numbers back her up. SUVs and light commercial vehicles — including utes — made up 84 per cent of new vehicles sold in Australia in April. Sedans and other passenger cars? Just 11 per cent. The top 10 selling cars in Australia that month were all utes and SUVs.
Hussein Dia, professor of future urban mobility at Monash University, said cars sold in Australia have been getting heavier and continuing to grow — a phenomenon sometimes called "auto-besity." "It's only fair that the road operator recovers more revenue from vehicles that are contributing more to the tear and wear of the infrastructure," he said.
A Victorian government spokesman said that under contractual arrangements, toll road operators are entitled to charge different rates for different vehicle classes. But he confirmed the inquiry is "focusing on making sure tolling remains fair, appropriate and fit for purpose."
The inquiry will hear submissions before reporting back by the end of September. For now, if you're driving a big ute on CityLink, you're still paying that $52.