User-pay roads best says Treasury

By VERNON SMALL deputy political editor

Auckland's congestion crisis cannot be solved by building more roads, says the Treasury.

It recommends "congestion pricing", so users pay for driving at peak times, to ease the pressure.

"It is impossible to use construction of road capacity to relieve congestion - the demand for road services will always outstrip supply in a growing urban area where individuals do not face the full cost of the congestion that they cause by their transport decisions," the Treasury told the Government last year as it was finalising its transport package, out in February.

Short term, Auckland's congestion problem was unlikely to be solved by adding roading capacity and, in the longer term, adding capacity was unsustainable.

Mayors in the Auckland region, led by Auckland City Mayor John Banks, have approved plans to build motorways, such as the eastern corridor and State Highway 20 extension from the Mt Roskill to the Northwestern Motorway, to cut congestion.

In 1997, the last major eastern corridor study said "a high proportion of the capacity of a four-lane road would be taken up when the facility is constructed".

The Treasury said efficient congestion pricing required a cut in the city's nine road-controlling authorities. Otherwise, "pricing by one authority could shift congestion on to alternative routes, possibly controlled by another authority."

The present structure slowed engineering projects and made "holistic solutions" difficult.

National's transport spokeswoman, Belinda Vernon, said it was ironic that the Government, which railed against congestion pricing in Opposition, was faced with the reality that it was a necessity.

In its February package, the Government announced extra spending of $227 million - $94 million to ease Auckland's congestion.

The $227 million was to be raised by a 4.7c-a-litre rise in petrol tax and an average 30 per cent rise in road-user charges on diesel vehicles up to 4 tonnes. The two changes are expected to raise $175 million a year.

The package also earmarked $30 million for roading alternatives, such as rail, $36 million for public transport and $3 million to promote cycling and walking. A further $34 million went for road safety education and enforcement.

It also opened the way for new toll roads and partnerships with the private sector to finance large projects.

The Treasury advice, released to the Herald under the Official Information Act, showed that the Government initially planned to increase transport funding by $50 million a year through a 2c-a-litre rise in petrol tax.

The Treasury also said the funding package risked going "beyond the point" of obtaining good value for money.

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