The Government has announced it will soon introduce legislation allowing councils to charge drivers for using roads at certain times or locations, depending on how busy the road is.
A bill to enable “time of use schemes”, commonly referred to as congestion charging, will be introduced this year, Transport Minister Simeon Brown said this morning.
“Congestion is a tax on time and productivity. It means that we are away from home for longer, sitting in gridlock. It results in fewer jobs being done, fewer goods being moved, and delays to services across the city,” Brown said.
“Faster, more reliable travel times will increase productivity, and lower costs for businesses and their customers. That is why we are enabling time of use schemes to be put in place.”
NZTA and the Ministry of Transport said time of use schemes can charge road users at certain times or places, depending on how busy the roads are, in a bid to get them to change their travel habits.
Brown is also Minister for Auckland – and the city’s mayor has been an advocate of the measure.
Auckland Council “gave the go-ahead for a scheme to be designed for the Auckland region” in June.
Simeon Brown said the time of use charging will reduce travel times and boost economic growth.
“Time of use schemes will improve network efficiency to increase productivity and enable Kiwis and freight to get where they need to go quickly and safely. It is not about raising revenue,” he said.
“Enabling time of use schemes is a priority for our Government and a commitment under the National-ACT Coalition Agreement.”
The planned legislation will allow councils to propose schemes for their road networks. The NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) will work with local councils to design the schemes, providing “strong oversight”, and any schemes would require central government approval.
“Time of use schemes will need to consider the impacts on motorists and businesses that use the roads that fall within the charging areas, as well as the impacts on the wider network,” Brown said.
“Any money collected through time of use charging will also be required to be invested back into transport infrastructure that benefits Kiwis and businesses living and working in the region where the money was raised.
“Councils will not be able to spend this money on other priorities or pet projects.”
Among the “key components” of the Government’s framework is an exemption for emergency vehicles.
And charges will be different according to the size of the vehicle, the framework said.
What it means for Aucklanders
Brown directly referenced Auckland in his statement, calling it a “leading candidate for a time of use charging scheme”.
He said: “The Government will prioritise working with Auckland Council.
“Auckland is grappling with pressing productivity challenges that demand effective solutions.
“By enabling time of use schemes to be implemented, we are addressing these challenges head-on, providing our heavily congested city with faster and more reliable journeys.”
In June, ahead of the Government’s announcement, Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown said: “It’s about making the most of what we have and bringing Auckland in line with similar cities.
“It’s a tried and tested solution, and one that’s relatively low-cost.”
He told Breakfast in April introducing congestion charges would be “a hell of a lot cheaper, quicker, faster than building another motorway, which just fills up again anyhow”.
“You’re just encouraging people to change their day a bit or do something differently — or better still, get on a bus.”
