The Government has revealed three new North Island highways will be tolled, and how much it will cost to travel on them.
Transport Minister Simeon Brown announced the tolling decision today, which will include charges on new highways in Auckland, Tauranga and the Wellington region.
He said: “Tolling on these roads will support the ongoing cost of delivering these roads and maintaining and operating them.
“This will help motorists in Auckland, Tauranga, and Greater Wellington gain faster, safer, and more reliable journeys. Each of these routes retains a free, viable alternative route.”
The new roads which will be tolled are Penlink in North Auckland, the Takitimu North Link in Tauranga, and Ōtaki to North of Levin Highway in the lower North Island.
Toll prices are different depending on the road, ranging from $2 off-peak to about $3 during peak for light vehicles, while heavy vehicles would have to pay around double.
Brown also revealed tolls would not be applied to the new Manawatū-Tararua Highway, amid widespread opposition to the proposal.
The Transport Minister said: “Late consultation and timing constraints mean it would not be cost-effective to implement tolling until well after the road’s completion, placing it outside the Government’s expectations for new road tolling.”
The Government is proposing to toll a new four-lane expressway being built over the Ruahine Ranges, but locals are angered by the prospect of paying for each trip, with one saying it would cost them an extra $2000 a year. (Source: 1News)
Govt wants more tolls in transport system
The announcement comes as part of wider changes to enable more extensive tolling of the country’s roading infrastructure under a “user pays” model. Brown said he wanted NZTA to “consider tolling in circumstances beyond what is currently possible”.
“Tolling is a tool used around the world to accelerate investment in roading infrastructure, and the changes the Government is making will allow this approach to be applied in New Zealand more effectively,” the minister said.
“These reforms ensure that those who benefit from new and improved roads share in the cost of building them, making it possible to deliver infrastructure sooner and more efficiently.”
According to the Government, key changes included:
- Enabling tolling of an entire corridor, including existing roads that gain capacity or are extended by new projects.
- Automatically increasing toll prices by inflation, ensuring users contribute fairly over the lifetime of the road.
- Requiring a free viable alternative, while enabling tolling schemes to require heavy vehicles to use toll roads where the toll road is designed to divert traffic away from built-up or suburban areas.
- Making it more efficient to set up and collect toll revenues.
Brown added: “This approach is designed to bring forward investment in critical new roading projects across the country.
“For example, corridor tolling could help deliver extensions to key roads sooner, with those who benefit contributing directly to the cost of building the extension or additional capacity on those roads.”
The minister said the Government has agreed to “clear principles” for toll road proposals including “clear expectations for consultation processes.
“This will give communities clarity of the benefits of toll road proposals, consider wider impacts on local roads, and examine how toll revenue may support maintenance of free alternative routes,” he said.
“NZTA is also updating its tolling infrastructure and systems to reduce processing costs. Changes include upgrading internal software and adjusting the law to toll the vehicle owner rather than the driver to make it easier to collect toll payments.”
The project, which plans to see a number of four-lane highways constructed, would cost around $6 million. (Source: 1News)
Legislation giving effect to these changes will be introduced next year.
Earlier this year, the Government confirmed it wanted to splash out billions for over a dozen new motorway and highway projects, promised during the election by National, and which the Government says is crucial to reducing congestion.
The costs of the massive road-building programme remain uncertain.
Brown said the “Government has made it clear we expect NZTA to consider tolling for all Roads of National Significance to help deliver this roading programme.”
