Auckland congestion charge: Cross-party support to make drivers pay at peak times

Friday, 27 August 2021

A congestion charge of up to $3.50 has been suggested by officials for the Auckland CBD.(Video August 2021)

Aucklanders driving in and out of the city centre in peak hours would pay a congestion charge in a scheme backed by a parliamentary select committee.

The cross-party recommendation said funds generated by the congestion charge could be used for public and active transport, and to offset any inequities.

It does not recommend a trial, and said a regionwide scheme should begin with strategic routes into the city centre, with billing done using number plate recognition, as happens on toll highways.

The outcome from the Transport and Infrastructure Committee is one more step on the way to congestion charging, which mayor of Auckland Phil Goff believed could be ready by the mid-2020s.

* Auckland congestion charge: Motorists urged to submit feedback on plans

* Auckland congestion charge: Drivers could be taxed $3.50 to enter central city at peak hour

A select committee backed a congestion charge initially for routes into Auckland’s central city

Goff said he supported the move as a way to reduce congestion and carbon emissions.

“It’s not a case of being happy about it, it is both necessary and inevitable,” Goff told Stuff.

The Minister of Transport Michael Wood was measured in his response to Friday’s release of the committee report.

Strategic routes such as the Auckland Harbour Bridge could be subject to a peak-hour charge

“It’s really positive to have cross-party consensus on this issue and we are considering congestion charging as part of the Emissions Reduction Plan,” Wood told Stuff in a statement.

The committee report recommended legislation to enable schemes in cities in Aotearoa, but referred only to a specific scheme for Auckland.

The report is the latest step in work begun in 2016, which in November 2020 resulted in an official report suggesting a possible $3.50 charge for peak hour access into Auckland’s central city.

The impact of that on some lower-income motorists without easy options has been acknowledged as critical, by politicians and officials, and is noted in the new report.

“We are particularly concerned that, as far as practical, any scheme should take into account the impact on the city’s lower-paid workers,” said the select committee.

The parliamentarians said while some would consider the charge punitive, those paying it would likely benefit from congestion reduced to levels similar to during school holidays.

“We consider that an 8 to 12 per cent decrease in the amount of time drivers spend waiting in traffic could allow for significant increases in efficiency,” it said.

The select committee left open the question of whether any new charge should replace Auckland’s current 11.5 cents a litre regional fuel tax, given that the tax had a different purpose: gathering revenue.

Goff said much more work was needed on inequities, such as possible concessions for low-paid workers.

He said later in this decade would be a likely suitable date to introduce the charge, once major public transport projects such as City Rail Link, the Eastern Busway, and northwestern bus lanes were in place.