KEY POINTS:
Auckland faces a big transport funding gap if it doesn't accept road tolls as a new source of revenue, its regional council was warned yesterday.
But the Auckland Regional Transport Authority was in turn advised by councillors not to count on tolls, given indications of strong public opposition to a proposal by Transit NZ to charge motorists for driving along the western ring route.
The transport authority, a semi-autonomous council subsidiary, has produced a draft 10-year plan for roads, trains, buses, buses, ferries, bicycles and pedestrians that would cost $15.6 billion.
It says that even if money can be raised from tolls, the region will be left with a shortfall of $2 billion.
That follows expected funds of:
* $7 billion from Land Transport NZ.
* $3 billion from territorial local authorities from rates, loans and development contributions.
* $1.6 billion from Auckland Regional Council rates and Auckland Regional Holdings funds.
* $600 million from Government rail agency Ontrack.
* $1.3 billion in toll revenue from the western ring route and new roads to Whangaparaoa and between Pakuranga and Panmure.
The transport plan allocates 59 per cent of the money to roads, 37 per cent to public transport and 4 per cent to what is described as travel demand management - including incentives for more people to walk or cycle.
But the transport authority warns that without tolls or some other form of road-user charges, the funding gap will balloon to $3.3 billion.
Because the Government has committed six years of funds for state highways, the authority says the main casualties of the shortfall will be public transport infrastructure and new local roads, which are only partly state-financed.
It proposes reviews of major projects and of Government funding rules, and the investigation of options to increase local shares of funding, including property development levies and a regional fuel tax.
The regional council's transport policy committee criticised the authority for saying in the draft document that $1.3 billion was expected from tolls.
Committee member Robyn Hughes questioned the concept of relying on tolls as a general source of revenue, given what she saw as a conflicting claim by Transit NZ that these were needed to manage travel demand along the western ring route.
Although the regional council and all four city councils along the 48km route between Manukau and Albany have opposed Transit's plan, they last year lent support for more Government studies of proposed road-user charges to reduce congestion on key roads and to improve public transport.
Transport policy committee chairman Joel Cayford said he understood a Government response was "imminent" to almost 1000 public submissions on that idea, which closed nine months ago.
