Melbourne's three local municipalities are considering charging tolls or tickets for visitors to (Great Ocean Road), Oceania Road, the Times reported.
Both Colac Otway,Moyne and Corangamite government support the introduction of some form of fee plan. Oceania Road has long been popular with tourists, and the introduction of a fee plan will inject some money into the local economy, which can be used to cover the cost of road and facility maintenance.
Several fee schemes were proposed, including tolls, one-day tolls or tickets, as well as proposals for the use of facilities such as toilets and parking lots.
The mayor of Colac Otway Shire, Joe McCracken, said the city was considering implementing a user payment system, but no specific plans had yet been identified. "in the end, these municipalities around Oceania Road will have to discuss with other parties. Once a consensus has been reached, it is time to discuss what kind of charging model to adopt. "We want to be able to implement a user payment system, which means that users may be charged for using some of the facilities," he said.
McCracken said the system should be suitable for tourists, not locals, and that both toilets and parking could be charged.
"the tourists came to the ocean during the day, took their own packed lunch, went to the bathroom in Apollo Bay, then Twelve Apostles took a selfie and then returned to Melbourne. The process has injected little money into the local economy. In order to get together, we are discussing a number of user payment systems. "
Last year, government, Victoria, set up the Oceanic Road Action team to protect the tourism hot spot, negotiate with stakeholders and propose reform policies.
The city has submitted proposals and views on site management, and the action team will make final recommendations to the government by the end of this year.
In its recommendations to the action team, Moyne said the government might implement a charging system.
"We have many options to fund new institutions and their operations. One of them may be the toll system on the road, but not the locals. Parking fees and tickets may be charged at several locations of the attraction. "
Mick Wolfe, mayor of Moyne, said government would consider charging tolls if the state of government and federal government did not have enough money to improve the ocean road.
"the bottom line is that Oceania Road needs a lot of money. I don't like toll roads either, but the whole plan needs funding. The road itself needs a lot of work, and the facilities along the road are inadequate. We have to do a lot of work. It is difficult for a single city or any other city to fund it. In a sense, I think we are very unique. Everyone comes here and goes to the national park without paying for it. "
Data show that Oceania Road attracts about 5 million visitors a year. In last week's budget, Victoria's government pledged 150 million yuan to Shipwreck Coast Masterplan in an effort to improve the tourist experience and increase the economic benefits along the coast.