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Thousands of Auckland commuters will have to trudge considerable distances to work this morning - possibly in the rain - as buses surrender the central city to a mass protest by truckies.
Buses will drop up to 20,000 passengers on the outskirts of the central business district between about 7am and 10am to avoid being caught up in the protest against the Government's sudden increase in road-user charges.
Victoria Park, Great North Rd and Upper Symonds St will be the nearest many will be able to get to their offices and shops by bus.
The MetService has forecast showers and gusty westerlies.
The police are also warning of motorway traffic jams stretching past the harbour bridge to the north and possibly as far as Otahuhu to the south as up to 2000 trucks head for Queen St.
"We are definitely looking at gridlock. It's just a matter of how long that gridlock lasts, and the opportunity to clear it as fast as possible," said Auckland central's roading police chief, Acting Inspector Ross Endicott-Davies.
Although the official time for the Road Transport Forum-organised protest is between 7.30am and 9.30am, Mr Endicott-Davies said commuters who could not leave their cars at home should set off well before then.
He also expected widespread disruption for several hours after the trucks start dispersing after circuits of Queen St and surrounding roads.
The forum is telling truckies to join their nearest motorway on-ramps at 7.30am and then enter central Auckland via the Symonds St, Nelson St and Cook St exits, before circling the Town Hall.
Truckies are also planning protest rallies in 12 other cities and towns from Whangarei to Invercargill.
Transport Minister Annette King agreed late yesterday to set up a working party with industry representatives to examine the formula under which user charges are set to cover spending on roads.
But she said that did not mean the Government accepted Transport Forum chief executive Tony Friedlander's criticism of the formula.
And it did not intend reversing the increased charges imposed without warning on Tuesday.
She said the Ministry of Transport disputed Mr Friedlander's estimate that heavy trucks were less than 3 per cent of the national vehicle fleet but were paying 75 per cent of the upkeep of state highways and local roads.
But she had resisted a ministry recommendation for the increase in charges to be double what was imposed, and had agreed to set up the working party to ensure the formula "delivers fairness" to all road users.
Ms King said she supported the truckies' right to protest, but urged them not "to impede the legal movements of other New Zealanders".
The Auckland Regional Transport Authority has made unprecedented contingency arrangements with bus operators, who bring about 23,000 passengers into the city between 7am and 9am on an average week day.
Customer services general manager Mark Lambert said trains and ferries would keep normal timetables, but passengers should expect heavier loadings than usual.
Ontrack is warning of delays of several minutes to rail services because of a signals upgrading project at Wiri, which train operator Veolia hopes will not "snowball" into worse disruption.
The one consolation for transport officials is that university students have begun their mid-year break and some of the city's 78,000 workers are likely to use today's disruption as a chance to have a day at home.
But a group of cyclists also intends to be in Queen St today in a ride between the trucks which organiser David Benson said was aimed at persuading the public more freight should be carried by rail than road.
Auckland Chamber of Commerce chief executive Michael Barnett said many businesses, including his own, had re-arranged staff hours and were letting those able to work from home do so.
Heart of the City business association chief Alex Swney said he had no gripes with the truckies' motives, but was concerned they had chosen Queen St as their stage.
"They don't come here in normal circumstances, so why don't they do their protest where they do their business?
"Why don't they do it on a motorway that taxpayers paid hundreds of millions of dollars for?"
But Road Transport Association spokesman Chris Carr said Mr Swney should accept that the disgruntled truckies would want to drive into "the heart of Auckland" to vent their anger at the Government's move.
"We are Aucklanders, we don't want to go to some farm paddock in Waiuku."
Truck drivers were being urged to keep intersections clear for emergency services, and to disperse as soon as possible after 9.30am.
His message to commuters forced to footslog into the downtown area was: "Thank you very much for your understanding, and we're sorry for the inconvenience."
