Key messages

•  Reforms to how governments plan, manage and invest in transport networks will bring forward innovative solutions and lead to new infrastructure investment that better matches predicted mobility needs.

•  The primary aim of any transport pricing reform should be to support transport operations by balancing the efficient use of the transport network.

•  For transport infrastructure to efficiently move people and goods throughout its life, there must also be pricing reform so both passengers and freight users pay a reasonable price.

•  A reasonable price would capture all travel costs, starting with the direct costs of building and maintaining assets and operating services.

•  What people pay must also reflect the impact that individual transport choices have on others, such as emissions, congestion and crashes.

•  A successfully reformed transport network pricing regime will make these considerations clear to all users. Everyone will understand what they are buying, receive the expected level of service and see their payment going directly towards a known outcome.

•  National transport pricing reform should start with a commitment by governments to dedicate transport revenues to better mobility services.

•  Independent consumer interest bodies should be given the responsibility of monitoring financial protections for at-risk Australians.

•  Experience with reforms that are already underway in some jurisdictions should inform nationwide rollout.

•  Participating in the current Heavy Vehicle Road Reform project can develop agencies' capability to administer broader road user charging and pricing.

•  A national distance-based road use charge for heavy and light vehicles must ultimately replace the petroleum fuel excise that will disappear as Australia's vehicle fleet electrifies.

•  Charges should reflect the external impacts of road use in different settings, progressively extend across vehicle classes and be complemented by reductions in fixed vehicle ownership costs.

•  In cities, supplementary parking and road use pricing should address time-of-day congestion.

•  Reconfigured urban public transport services and fares will provide users with affordable access to a '30-minute city' or a comparable standard.

•  Fares should vary by mode and time of day to reflect the quality of travel experience and promote network efficiency.

•  Rail owners and operators should grow revenues through value sharing (for example, from increased property values), developing airspace and advertising.

•  Regional rail fares should increase as and when services improve, with the additional revenue going towards further infrastructure investments, including maintenance.