Mayor supports traffic congestion tolls for Auckland

Tolls aimed at reducing Auckland's congested roads and motorways could be a reality within 10 years.

Transit has listed congestion charging as a possible "travel demand management" tool in its 10-year plan and Auckland Mayor Dick Hubbard supports the idea.

The Ministry of Transport is also investigating it.

Mr Hubbard said charging motorists as a way of managing peak-hour traffic was used in many other places, including London and Singapore, and it was inevitable for Auckland.

"The technology is improving dramatically in terms of being able to do it, and we have got to the situation where ultimately we just can't provide enough roads for vehicles.

"Five years ago in Auckland we would have said that the right to drive a car anywhere on a free base was paramount, but I think Aucklanders are accepting the reality of congestion problems and the fact that we have to come up with imaginative solutions," said Mr Hubbard.

Transit acting regional manager Richard Hancy said congestion pricing was only one of several options for managing Auckland's traffic volumes, which were growing up to 4 per cent each year.

"It's certainly one of the possible tools ... we can use to implement travel demand management, but it's very, very early days yet in terms of the New Zealand situation."

Mr Hancy said congestion pricing could include tolling specific areas, such as charging motorists who entered the CBD, or targeting certain roads or motorways where charges could vary according to peak flows or congested sections.

The Government has also been investigating the feasibility of road pricing for the past year.

Mr Hancy said Transit would look further at the idea once the ministry's findings were available, probably towards the end of the year.

The chairman of the Auckland Regional Land Transport Committee, Joel Cayford, said the regional council was interested in learning more about congestion pricing.

However, it was not an issue that was "on the front-burner".

"We are supporting the provision of relevant information about how it might be applied in Auckland but it's not something that would happen quickly."

This is not the first time the idea of tolls has been raised for Auckland.

Transit is investigating road tolls to fund the Northern Motorway extension past Orewa to Puhoi.

Similar tolls already apply in Tauranga on the Route K highway, and were used to pay for the harbour bridge.

Last May, National Party leader Don Brash also raised the possibility of introducing electronic tolls and congestion pricing when he said National would complete Auckland's roading network within 10 years of coming to power.

Fixing gridlock

The Ministry of Transport is investigating congestion charges, Transit has listed the idea in its 10-year plan and the Auckland mayor supports it.

Charges could target specific areas of town or be restricted to certain roads or motorways and would be designed to encourage the use of public transport over cars.

Various forms of charging occur in Britain, Singapore, the US and Tauranga.

Traffic congestion costs Auckland about $1 billion each year.