Traffic backs up on Turret Rd during morning peak traffic, pictured in 2019. Photo / George Novak
Congestion charging is being seriously considered for Tauranga in a bid to get more cars off the road.
Also known as road pricing, congestion charging generally involves drivers paying a fee to use select roads during select times. It has been used in cities such as Singapore and London as a single-occupancy car disincentive.
The prospect of charging surfaced at a Bay of Plenty Regional Public Transport Plan Hearings subcommittee meeting last week as a tool to create behavioural change known as "mode shift" to alternative forms of transport.
Home to two of New Zealand's three toll roads, in 2018 Tauranga was dubbed New Zealand's most car-reliant city.
At the meeting, councillor Jane Nees questioned what the subcommittee could set as an emissions reduction target for the draft Regional Public Transport Plan.
Tauranga City Council commissioner Stephen Selwood offered 20 per cent in a decade as a possibility.
"That's a big number. For that size of step change, you are going to have to pull every lever of the toolbox - you'd need to start road pricing [as of] yesterday. . ."
Councillor Lyall Thurston responded: "At some point, we have to use the ugly word that no one wants to use and at some point, that's going to have to be in the plan - disincentive."
Subcommittee chair and councillor Andrew von Dadelszen said the number of single-occupancy vehicles in Tauranga was "staggering" and the council had to do something to stop it from rising.
Selwood said even a 5 per cent mode shift would require "significant changes in funding and behavioural change".
Councillor Paula Thompson said the council needed "to do everything we possibly can through mode shift and emissions [reductions]".
After the meeting, von Dadelszen told the Bay of Plenty Times mode shift was "critical".
"We have to get them out [of cars] because our roads . . . are just not keeping up with demand. With all the isthmuses, this is a very challenging city for public transport. We are sitting at 1.5 per cent bus patronage. We have to get that up."
Free buses, a renewed bus network, and a $10 million investment in boosting the city's 98 buses to 135 have all been tried in recent years with little effect.
He said evidence from London and Singapore showed congestion charging working - albeit in much bigger cities.
"Will it work in Tauranga? That's what we have to determine. Our community is wedded to their cars at the moment. Unfortunately, it's probably the most likely [solution] to get us to reach a serious mode shift. And we do need to, from an emissions point of view if nothing else."
The Government's Emissions Reduction Plan tasks cities such as Tauranga to reduce the total kilometres travelled by light fleet (cars) by 20 per cent by 2035.
The proposal of road pricing would likely aim for a 20 to 30 per cent reduction in traffic in Tauranga.
Selwood told the Bay of Plenty Times the emissions target required "enormous change" and while congestion charging was "the germ of an idea", he took it seriously.
Any road pricing would require legislative change. This has already been highlighted as something to be decided this year in the Government's steps to meet the Emissions Reduction Plan's 2035 goals.
However, such a measure was unlikely to happen without community buy-in, Selwood said.
"It's important we have an open and frank discussion with what the reality is."
The most likely charging method to be considered for Tauranga would see motorists pay to use busy roads such as Hewletts Rd in certain hours. They would be identified by registration plates.
It was hoped this would encourage some to choose an alternative mode of transport, route or time, to carpool and share costs or to work from home, Selwood said.
Special dispensation for low-income households could not be ruled out, Selwood said.
"You don't want to punish people who don't have the ability to change mode."
Another factor was the likely reduction in government petrol tax revenue as more people switched to electric or hybrid vehicles. Road pricing provided another income stream, Selwood said.
"Something is going to have to change . . . In time, most cities will have to go to a road pricing kind of mode. So do we step back and wait? Or do we get started sooner?"
While there were other remedies being worked on to help reduce Tauranga's car reliance - creating a greater public transport infrastructure and improving urban planning - "they are all really slow".
"I'm not suggesting this is a silver bullet, because there's no single thing, but to be honest I can't think of something that will have a greater impact in a short amount of time," Selwood said.
According to Tauranga City Council data, the average amount of congestion time per day on the city's arterial routes in November 2021 was 4 hours and 37 minutes. In February 2022, it was 6 hours, and in May 2022, it was 5 hours and 51 minutes.
Wednesday Challenge director Heidi Hughes said road charging was a great idea for Tauranga, so long as the revenue was spent bolstering other transport options.
"We would have to invest hugely in making public transport more accessible like an on-demand service, etc . . . there aren't enough modes currently."
Hughes said the existing bus service, currently operating at reduced hours, was not practical for many and it would be unfair for people with no public transport option "to wear a road user charge".
The Wednesday Challenge is a year-long pilot encouraging people to choose alternative transport one day a week to help reduce carbon emissions and free up the network.
"In terms of feedback, the reasons why people are unable to participate are definitely due to (a lack of) services," Hughes said.
It is understood local authorities will now progress with traffic modelling plans and work with the Government on the matter.
Would congestion charging in Tauranga change how you travel around the city?
"I can see the advantage for the council with it but I don't know, I catch the bus. It'd probably work on 15th Ave and Hewletts Rd. I'm intrigued."
Hone Tutua,
Tauranga South
"It's hard. I'm not for public buses with everything going on with them at the moment. If there were more options available I would consider them but right now? No."
Aleshia McCurdy
Tauriko
"That could be a good idea. I think that would be good having a time of 'please try not to drive as much and if you do, here's a little charge'. Because it (traffic) is a problem."
Katie Penwarden
Pyes Pa
"It would change how I drive but that's because I'm a broke uni student. I'd probably park near and walk the rest of the way or something. I'm on a budget and I have to make that work. I avoid toll roads because I don't want to have to pay."
Hannah Filden
Tauriko
The couple spend five months a year in America running their business.