Trucks were cheered by many onlookers but the Government is standing firm. Photos / Mark Mitchell, Steve McNicholl,

Trucks were cheered by many onlookers but the Government is standing firm. Photos / Mark Mitchell, Steve McNicholl,

Protesting truckies say they will not rule out future strikes, despite meeting with the Ministry of Transport secretary this afternoon.

The Road Transport Forum chief executive Tony Friedlander said the ministry and industry are working together to scope out a review of the Road User Charges.

Protest organisers say about 2000 trucks took part in today's protest in Auckland alone while other main centres were also blocked-up by heavy trucks.

Mr Friedlander said a scoping report is being prepared to look at a timeframe and how much input the industry will have.

"It will be around how the charges are allocated to vehicle types and rate-payers. It will be around the way they are collected and set and the way the system works," Mr Friedlander said.

He said the meeting with the secretary was "positive".

"We certainly hope that when we've completed the work that sets this project off and gets it working, that it removes any need for further action," Mr Friedlander said.

But he said further protests cannot be ruled out.

Mr Friedlander said the transport minister Annette King is out of the country but arrives back on July 14 when it is hoped that a formal agreement can be reached.

He said truckies are not arguing for a decrease in road user charges but a fore-warning of when they are going up.

Mr Friedlander said there is a way for the ministry to get around the problem of truckies pre-buying road user charges by forcing them to cash in their existing paid-for kilometres and buying new ones at the new price.

"We don't want one operator having an advantage over another," Mr Friedlander said.


PM says no to RUC cuts

Prime Minister Helen Clark says it is unlikely road-user charges will be reduced following a nationwide protest by truck drivers today.

Traffic has returned to normal levels after truck drivers blockaded 13 cities and towns from Whangarei to Invercargill between 7 and 9am today.

Drivers were outraged at Transport Minister Annette King's announcement on Tuesday that road-user charges on diesel vehicles and other vehicles weighing more than 3.5 tonnes would increase.

They said the announcement of additional costs came on the heels of record fuel prices and as the country was entering a recession.