KEY POINTS:
Easter drivers probably won't believe it, but Auckland's traffic congestion is levelling off, says roading authority Transit.
Auckland drivers now face shorter delays for each kilometre travelled than Christchurch drivers, according to Transit's latest travel-time indicator survey.
Aucklanders drove to work or classes in the November morning peak at an average speed of just 39km/h. That was no slower than 12 months or 24 months earlier.
It was also faster than for March of any year since the surveys began in 2002, although Transit says there are too many seasonal differences for valid comparisons.
Going home was slightly faster at 40km/h - the same as a year earlier.
In Wellington, morning commuters enjoyed an average speed of 49km/h, but that was 3km/h slower than the previous November.
But motorists in Christchurch, who travel on local roads with lower speed limits than motorways, travel at an average of just 36km/h in the morning.
That means they were delayed by 41.4 seconds for every kilometre travelled in morning peak traffic, compared with free-flowing conditions, while Aucklanders were delayed by 35.4 seconds for every kilometre.
Transit believes extra lanes added to the Northwestern and Southern Motorways, with the improvements to Spaghetti Junction, are starting to make a difference.
Board member Mike Williams suggested last week that easing congestion may have made some Aucklanders complacent about the need to complete the 48km motorway link between Manukau and Albany by 2015.
That comment has alarmed lobbyists such as the National Road Carriers Association, which says some firms have lost a freight trip a day since the beginning of this year, because of congestion.
"There has been no levelling off of congestion," insisted association executive director Bruce Reid.
"The peaks are longer and the reliability of key corridors has reduced."
Mr Reid welcomed Transit's decision to axe its toll scheme for the western ring route because of strong opposition, but said that should give the Government no cause to delay completing the route.
"Build it now, and build it fast, before the Auckland economy is gridlocked," he said.
Although Transit says it remains committed to a 2015 opening for the full ring route, subject to finding alternative funding sources for a $800 million shortfall, Employers' Association chief Alasdair Thompson says a regional fuel tax should be considered "as a last resort".
