KEY POINTS:
Transit New Zealand has backed off from a proposal to have tolls on the western ring route - raising the prospect of a regional fuel tax to pay for it.
This forum debate has now closed. Here is a selection of your views on the topic.
Garrett Rossini
Why can not we simply use the taxes on petrol we already pay? Stop using the taxes on motorists for others benefit. The positive downstream affects on the economy provide more tax for welfare later and we get to sit in traffic less.
Cedric
We have been hearing about and waiting for the Sth Western motorway since the 60s, if it was built 20yrs ago we wouldn't have such a congestion problem today and it would have cost much less. Likewise a decent public transport system has been discussed and shelved for the same period. The government has announced a budget surplus of some 7bn, spend 800m of this to gain a benefit of 1bn in the first year .... sounds like simple math to me.
Chris White
In my view there are too many cars coming into the city. With all the concern about greenhouse gases and pollution caused by cars, certainly building more roads is not the answer. The public transport situation should be improved and as for cars choking up an already overcrowded central city, surely it is time that is cut back. As for making the taxpayer pay for roads - well, not everyone owns a car and I feel that if you do, then you should be prepared to pay tolls or a petrol tax.
Ryan Ingleton
I am from South Africa where we enjoy a well developed national highway infrastructure. Our national roadways have always been tolled, some people may say that the cost of the tolls is too high but road building is an expensive business. Given the vast distances between cities and the volume of traffic that utilises them (eg Durban to Johannesburg) the roads tend to be longer and wider and of course, more expensive. Auckland, as New Zealand's biggest city, is constantly expanding and the road infrastructure should be planned to cater for this growth well into the future. It is my understanding that tolling roads is a good way to pay for such projects and has proven to be a viable option. It is not only buses and cars that use highways but heavy trucks which carry exports, imports to and from ports as well essential goods. I would be quite prepared to pay a toll. It needn't even be a cash toll - a prepay "E-tag" system could be utilised enabling the drivers to merely slow down and drive through, thereby not adding to traffic congestion at the toll gates.
Devin Mynett
Even though these roads are only in Auckland, I think it is a national issue. The majority of business and manufacturing are in the Auckland region and therefore serve the rest of the country. I think central government should be funding this, through say a few extra cents by tax for all.
Phil
Being a (d)Aucklander, I accept that some of my roading, er fuel tax, will be spent on roads away from (d)Auckland, and accept this is necessary if I should ever want to stray from this fine city. However, I do object to more fuel taxes when I already pay several hundred in fuel tax each week. If that money went to a roading account instead of the consolidated fund, then funding issues would be reduced - sure that money should also help fund ambulance etc as well, but there is plenty of $$$ in the existing fuel tax to pay for roading infrastructure around the country. Projects like the Wellington bypass, Taupo bypass, and can we please have a Hamilton bypass?
John McCall
Why do tolls seem such a problem in New Zealand? It is an efficient way of paying for a motorway as is done all over the world. It is interesting that elsewhere in the developed world they already have motorways built - we are still catching up! Perhaps the reason for the unwanted tolls is more political than what is actually needed. I have lived in other countries that charge tolls and it is not a big deal when you are getting a superior road. In most cases there is an alternative route (albeit slower & congested) should you not wish to pay the toll. As for the comments by some not to build motorways but to build train services they are living in another world. Trains are fine for commuters to work and back. People will still need to travel for recreation etc. Sydney has a fantastic train/bus service which is packed Mon-Fri but empty on the weekends. The roads are still congested. The western bypass is not there for commuters.
Graham Keye
Easy solution. Just print more money! Do not go to a Bank or raise taxes, just print more money. Money is produced from "nothing" anyway. That is how the Banks do it, so why not get the Government to do just that? After awhile, all the Government has to do is to slowly withdraw it from circulation. Banks will not like it but who cares? Not the people.
Warren Thompson
If the recommendations put forward by Sir Dove-Myer Robinson all those tears ago had been implemented then I believe this problem would not now be a problem. I believe the city Fathers past and present should shoulder the responsibility for their short sightedness. Should the money for roading, that comes from the road tax that we all pay is used then I am sure if all that money was used for that purpose alone then the money issues would go away immediately, not just for Auckland but the rest of the country as well.
Brian
So tolling roads is dead - good! Now that Transits Board have admitted road congestion in Auckland is levelling off as rail use rockets up, it is time to look at public transport (PT) alternatives. Transit have made much of the "need" to "complete" Auckland's motorway network, yet they now want to double the width of SH20 at Onehunga by building a new 4-lane motorway Mangere Bridge at cost of $130m. With a price of $800m to also fund the SH20 Mt Roskill-Waterview motorway link, surely it is cheaper and better for health and environment to extend the Onehunga rail line to Auckland Airport? This would speed visitors and Mangere locals around Auckland. Finishing the Onehunga-New Lynn rail line would also give a South to West PT bypass, speeding crosstown trips, cutting peak traffic volumes and emmissions. Rail electrification would complete the PT upgrade to allow clean, green movement around town. All this for roughly the same amount of money as the $800m SH20 motorway extension that was going to force Transit to toll roads... No brainer really, eh?
Martin
If we had used all that money that is gone in to Local Fuel Tax. All our local road would be gold plated! The problem with the "Local Foul Tax" the money doesn't go where it is suppose to go. The money should come either from user pays, or the Government should use the surplus to generate wealth in our economy, instead of helping other countries to increase theres ( oversees share investments ). But than again, if people get quicker from a-b that would mean they use less petrol. That in return would lead to a lower fuel consumption, less Gst revenue, less 50 per cent tax take on every litre sold. Probably it is not in the Governments interest to build better roads if you think about it.
Ces
Another fuel tax? Aren't we already paying a few cents per litre supposedly for transport and roading? Before the government loads another cost onto us, they need to tell us what they're using this one for. It is public money and they need to be accountable. I am a superannuitant and have never before experienced the like of a government, which wastes so much public money on invisible pursuits, with absolutely no productivity to show for the money spent. I've lost count of the committees investigating this and that, with nothing to show for millions of our dollars, when a common sense approach, or simply committing to serving the people of NZ (as they were elected to do), would save most of the cost. There would be no need for extra taxes if the revenue they are already receiving was carefully managed. Aren't we one of the highest taxed countries in the world? Yet our standard of living across the board continues to drop alarmingly. No wonder our best people are leaving in droves to cross the Tasman.I suggest this government needs a course in money management, to learn how to make each of our dollars give full value. The results, if they abided by what they learnt would show we are paying more than enough - it just needs to be managed more responsibly.
Kieran Cornelius
After years of spending taxes gathered from Aucklanders on other parts of the country, it would be highly desirable to see Auckland's petrol tax, registration charges, road user charges etc spent on Auckland's roading problems. articularly as these roading problems have been caused by a lack of investment in Auckland's roading infrastructure over the past 30 years.
Pshem Kowalczyk
Definitely current situation is unsustainable. We need to move more people from their cars into public transport. One way is to increase the cost of private commuting above other options. Local fuel tax serves exactly that purpose. However money from that basket shouldn't be only used on upgrading roads, but also on public transport improvements. If there is still funding gap for public transport - next step should be tolls on entering the city centres (not only CBD) or simply premium on inner-city parking.
Phil Smith
As a Kiwi moving to Sydney for work 5 years ago, it took a while to get use to the idea of paying tolls for key roads such as motorways. I now view tolls as being a true enabler to rapidly deliver the road infrastructure needed for growing cities, and I don't mind paying for it. Funding infrastructure from additional fuel levies will only keep fuel prices high and inhibits the adoption of alternative vehicles such as those with electric or hybrid engines.
Colin England
Road building should be halted. Congestion is not caused by not having enough roads but by having too many vehicles on the roads available. This being true then the only way to relieve congestion is to decrease the number of vehicles and that means tolling existing roads and highways. As has been reported in this newspaper the congestion in Auckland is costing the city about $1billion per year. This cost should be charged to the people who are causing it - the motorists. When the cost of taking a car to work is greater than the cost of taking public transport then public transport will be a viable option.
This idea would cause a lot of people to say that they paid for the roads and so they have a right to use them. Well, yes, you do have the right to use them but you do not have the right to charge others for your use of them which is what is happening now to the tune of $1b/year. Another point is that although the roads are a commonly owned resource this does not mean that they do not need to be managed. It is the lack of management at the moment that is causing the congestion. The adding of tolls on to the existing roads will be the needed management.
Leonard Altorf
Why should Auckland pay any "extra" taxes when Aucklanders already contribute a larger percentage of this countries tax take in Business, Personnel income and petrol taxes and then receive an inadequate "Public transport" system with a bare minimum of roading infrastructure. Central Government must be made aware that this ridiculous set of circumstance is costing the entire country billions of dollars annually.
Stephen
Wouldn't a regional fuel tax be unfairly charging people that may not even be using the western ring route? Where as, by placing toll booths on the western ring route, you would be charging people who are using, and getting direct benefits from using it. I would be more than happy to be charged a toll when using it, if this means I am cutting time out of my travels. To be charged because I buy my petrol in the region. I disagree.
Richard
While I feel for Aucklanders being asked to help pay for the roads that they will use while Labour spends money like it is going out of fashion. It is only fair that those that use the roads help finance them. I remember the old days of the toll on the Harbour bridge. Strangers paying for the car(s) behind them. I really can't see nothing wrong with a road toll, as long as it is a reasonable amount of money. If not a toll then a petrol tax for Aucklanders only. Roads around the country are suffering because the money they need to be repaired is going to Auckland.
Celeste
I think that there should be a toll, but I think that there should be an option for people who use that route everyday to have a concession card or something. This was they are still contributing some money, they just dont have to fork out hundreds of dollars over a few months. The only problem with this idea would be how to determine if someone is eligible for the card. Perhaps a letter to the toll department from the persons employer stating that they use this route every day and the person concerned can provide proof of address.
Leon Walker
So drivers and transport operators from out of town can fill up with fuel north or south of Auckland use the new roads all day weekend etc but the people who purchase fuel in Auckland, the majority of whom will not use the road/s at all pay for them. That does not seem fair to me.
