Fewer motorists are using Route K since Tauranga City Council hiked tolls to $2 on July 1 even though it boosted revenue by nearly a quarter.
Usage of the council-owned toll road by cars dropped by 7per cent in July and August since tolls went up from $1.50.
The big picture for all vehicles showed that although the total numbers fell slightly (2.2 per cent for July and August compared with 2013), revenue shot up by nearly a third to reach $770,000.
The heavy transport industry was undeterred by the $1 increase in truck tolls.
A total of 2900 more trucks used Route K in July than a year earlier when tolls were $4, boosting revenue by $41,000 on an 11 per cent increase in traffic.
Small trucks, whose tolls stayed at $2, showed an unusual surge in July when about 950 drivers, unsure of the changes in which trucks were tolled by weight rather than axles, went through as small trucks.
After numbers more than doubled in July, the figures went back to normal in August, with the council saying that operators who were undercharged made up the shortfall.
The boost in revenue since July 1 was expected to reduce Route K's operating losses which reached $1.4 million for the year ending June 30, pushing the road's debt to $62.3 million.
The council was paying 6 per cent interest on the debt which will disappear off its books on July 1 next year when the ownership of Route K and its debt transfers to the NZ Transport Agency.
However, the new Government has indicated that tolls would remain after National's election success meant it would be not be open to leverage from NZ First to remove the tolls on Route K.