It’s political... WHAT THE POLITICIANS THINK ABOUT TRUCKING THE NEW ZEALAND TRUCKING INDUSTRY FACES many challenges – many of them influenced by Government policy. Apart from the many problems currently created by the COVID-19 pandemic, there’s the ongoing driver shortage, the worsening state of the nation’s roading network and looming emissions reduction legislation… So, who among our political parties offers any
salvation for the industry in these situations? To have some insight into what politicians are thinking about issues impacting the road transport industry, NZ Truck & Driver has offered each of the major political parties the opportunity to voice their views on trucking matters each month. This month, the ACT Party and the National Party take up the opportunity. T&D
Why congestion charging is the answer By Simon Court, ACT Party spokesperson on transport
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UCKLAND LOSES $1.3BILLION EACH YEAR TO TRAFFIC congestion, according to a 2017 report commissioned by the Employers and Manufacturers Association (EMA), Auckland International Airport, Infrastructure New Zealand, Ports of Auckland and the National Road Carriers Association. Auckland Transport said an additional 16,600 cars – that’s 330 per week – were registered in 2019. There is no way road capacity has increased to meet that extra demand. COVID lockdowns saw far fewer private vehicles on the road at peak hour and reminded truckies of how much easier it was to get around 10 years ago, before Auckland added around 300,000 people and their cars to our city streets. Ten years ago I was planning construction projects, and relied on four loads a day from quarries to the Auckland CBD. Now contractors tell me they plan for three, but sometimes only get two loads – due to congestion and traffic management plans that limit when they can operate….because of congestion. Running costs are increasing, and the Government continues to collect billions of dollars in road user charges, fuel excise duty and the Auckland Regional Fuel Tax, intended to finance roading projects. The benefits of paying all those taxes are lost on road users as vital infrastructure projects designed to fix congestion, like the East West Link and Mill Road, were cancelled by the Government. Electric and hybrid vehicles are mostly exempt from road user charges and obviously pay nothing in terms of fuel excise duty. These vehicles are great at reducing carbon emissions but continue to use the roads that others are paying for. As hydrogen and battery-powered trucks become more common, they won’t be paying for roads through fuel taxes, so the cost of transport infrastructure will fall unfairly on firms and owner-drivers who buy low-emissions, fuel-efficient trucks. That means we need to look at other ways of funding and financing road projects – like congestion charging. ACT would support congestion charging if it meant that trucks and tradies would spend less time stuck in traffic, and that the money raised would go back into transport projects, which actually benefitted road users.
Simon Court If congestion charging reduced traffic at peak times a business could confidently tell a customer their delivery would arrive on time. A contractor could get an extra load of concrete each day and build stuff faster than they can now. Done right, congestion charging could free up road space for trucks and tradies and ensure sustainable cashflow for vital infrastructure projects. T&D Truck & Driver | 91
