nzherald.co.nz will have extensive coverage of the truck blockade nationwide tomorrow
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Police are advising commuters to leave their cars at home tomorrow, or consider taking the day off, during the truck blockade planned for major centres.
Road Transport Forum boss Tony Friedlander says that protests will now be held in 13 towns and cities throughout New Zealand tomorrow morning.
Whangarei, Hamilton, Tauranga, Rotorua, Palmerston North, New Plymouth, Nelson, Gore and Invercargill operators are joining their counterparts in Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch and Dunedin to protest against a sudden increase in road-user charges on diesel vehicles.
Disruption to traffic is expected to last from 7am until after 10am.
Inspector Simon Perry in Wellington said today: "We expect motorists will need to factor an extra 90 minutes delay into their travel time. The CBD will be gridlocked and we're not expecting traffic flow to return to anything like normal until after 10am."
Auckland police are encouraging commuters to either get to work before 7.30 or avoid the streets altogether tomorrow morning.
Inspector Ross Endicott-Davies said 2000 trucks could converge on the city's streets, after travelling down the motorways, by about 7.30am.
He said there would be significant delays that will affect drivers and bus users. He said anyone catching an early morning flight should think about finding accommodation near the airport or leaving early.
NZ Road Transport Forum Waikato area manager Garry Masters said Hamilton drivers were going to come into the city from the north, south, east and west and create a ring road around the city.
Inspector Tooman said motorists not using arterial routes should be fine although if the city became very congested it would "take a considerable time to clear up".
He said police had been assured the truck drivers would abide by all the road rules.
Tauranga police are advising motorists to avoid the Harbour Bridge between 7.30am and 9am.
Senior Sergeant Ian Campion urged commuters to leave their cars at home and take alternative routes.
He also suggested people get to work before 7.30 am or after 9 am and parents to drop school children off outside these times if possible.
In Christchurch, police said motorists should take the obvious precautions of allowing extra time, avoiding the main two routes where possible and to be patient.
Christchurch. Convoys will become broken as they progress through intersections.
"We expect drivers will behave responsibly and comply with law," says Inspector Derek Erasmus. "The main issue will be congestion."
Whangarei
Police are asking motorists to avoid driving into Whangarei CBD between 7.30am and 11.30am tomorrow (Friday July 4).
More than 100 trucks are expected to be driving around the CBD in protest against an increase in the road user charges.
The trucks will be coming in from the north and south of the city and at 7.30am will be starting an anti-clockwise circuit beginning on Kamo Road through to Bank Street, down to the five-finger roundabout, along Walton Street, onto Dent Street, along Hatea Drive, onto Deveron Street and then onto Mill Road before heading around the circuit again.
The trucks will continue driving around this circuit until about 9am.
However, severe disruption to traffic is expected to continue until about 11.30am.
AA says 'bus it'
AA spokesman Mike Noon said the association is taking a balanced view of the protest. He said truck drivers have the right to protest but the AA had asked for the protest to take place outside of peak travel times.
He said fuel prices are making it tough for motorists and truck drivers.
"But it's important everybody pays their fair share," Mr Noon said.
He said the association is advising motorists to leave the car at home, lace up the shoes, get on the bike or try the train.
"We are concerned that the congestion may be longer than the period set down for the protest," Mr Noon said.
He said other feeder roads not on the protest routes, could also be effected.
Mr Noon said anyone who has to get behind the wheel should ``take it easy' and not take their frustrations out on other motorists.
He also advised drivers to make sure they had a full fuel tank, given that they could be sitting in traffic for a long period of time.
Auckland City Council
The Auckland City Council says it is powerless to stop freight carriers acting on their threat to send a thousand trucks up and down Queen St.
Auckland City Mayor John Banks said last night that, despite the inconvenience, he would welcome the sight of heavy rigs jamming Queen St "in the spirit of free enterprise and democratic protest".
The former National Party police minister invited Aucklanders to consider delaying their everyday business for several hours as the truckies fill the city centre in protest against "a Government with a death-wish".
"I love big trucks so I'll take 10 minutes to give them some moral support and to see their big trucks rumble up Queen St," he said.
Government defends charges
Today Transport Minister Annette King defended the road user charge increases saying they are minimal and needed to maintain roads damaged by trucks.
The nationwide protest will see 1000 trucks in the centre of Auckland, organisers have promised.
Trucking representatives say it is the first national protest taken by the industry.
Ms King announced the increase in road user charges (RUC) on Monday, and they came into effect on Tuesday.
This angered truck companies who wanted notice so they could pre-purchase charge vouchers.
Car users paid for the roading system every time they bought petrol, those with diesel only paid through the charges and these had not risen to cover the costs created by trucks, Ms King said.
The increase means that for a small diesel car it will cost $3.28 more to drive 1000km, or $32.80 more for an average year's motoring of 10,000km.
For a larger vehicles, such as a three tonne SUV, it will cost an extra $49.20 per 10,000km.
A typical five tonne truck will pay an additional $53.80 per 10,000km, while a 23 tonne four-axle truck can expect to pay an additional $198.
Ms King said she had been advised to increase the charges by twice that amount.
The increases were minimal considering that large trucks did most damage on roads, responsible for a third of spending on road repairs.
"This is about fairness," Ms King said.
She acknowledged that there could be changes to the system in the future.
Ms King said she did not give notice this time because when she did in 2007 there was a $17.5 million mass pre-purchase to beat the deadline.
Road Transport Forum chief executive Tony Friedlander said the organisation's members were outraged.
The minister had previously promised a month's notice of any increases.
"I have never known members to be so angry over any issue," he said.
Ms King said she understood the protests were being organised before the increase in road user charges were announced.
Mainfreight managing director Don Braid said he had never seen so much anger against the government in the road transport industry.
"The lack of understanding and the lack of knowledge of what is going on in the transport scene right now by this transport minister is just unbelievable. I just don't think she understands the industry at all," he said.
Mainfreight controls one of the largest trucking fleets in the country, typically dispatching more than 100 trucks out of Auckland a day, but participation in the protest tomorrow will be a decision taken by individual owner-drivers.
"We are as angry as they are about it but it is not for us to tell a driver to forgo revenue to be in the parade. We support them if they do," Mr Braid said.
Toll NZ, the company which this week sold rail and ferries back to the government, is another big operator of trucks.
Similar protests have been taking place around the world as the transport sector is squeezed by higher oil prices.
OVERCHARGED
* Truck drivers are being asked to join motorcades into the city at 7.30am tomorrow.
* They are protesting against rises in road-user charges which they say will average about 7.5 per cent but will rise as high as 15 per cent for courier firms.
* The Road Transport Forum says the timing could not be worse for our industry, which is facing record fuel prices and other cost increases.
- NZPA, NZ HERALD STAFF
