The increases, the first since 2019, were in response to inflation, a Waka Kotahi spokeswoman said,
“Waka Kotahi has kept the toll increases below average CPI (Consumer Price Index) over the period since the last increase while ensuring toll revenues will continue to enable the timely repayment of debt,” she said.
Takitimu Drive, formerly known as Route K, bypasses the Tauranga city centre and takes traffic from SH29 to SH2 in the direction of the Port of Tauranga and Mount Maunganui.
The Tauranga Eastern Link is a 15km section of SH2 between Paengaroa and Pāpāmoa.
Revenue generated from motorists using the TEL totalled $25.4m since it opened in 2015, compared to $27.7m from Takitimu Drive over the same time period.
In 2021/22, the transport agency received $3.8m from Tauranga Eastern Link users, and $4.6m from those using Takitimu Drive.
Tauranga truck driver Glen Fraser, who uses the Tauranga Eastern Link daily to get to his work at Readfields, based in Paengaroa, said the increases would have an impact.
While the TEL provided a quicker and easier route, he was concerned about the price hike in light of other increased vehicle running costs such as fuel, he said.
“It kind of mounts up.
“It will impact me ... whether or not it’s worth driving out there for work instead of getting a job in town.”
“The other thing is, there are two lots of roadworks on that road. It’s a bit cheeky putting the prices up when you’ve actually got to slow down to 70km/h - it’s a toll road but there are two major, quite lengthy, slowdown points from building that Pāpāmoa Eastern Interchange and further down (the Rangiuru Business Park).”
Fraser said the same could be said for Takitimu Drive, which has also had significant roadworks in recent months.
“There are often big hold-ups on that road so it’s unfair to charge people for something that is not high quality without interruptions to people’s travel,” Fraser said.
“I don’t have a problem with toll roads if you are getting a premium quality road without any hold ups and if it means getting a nice motorway that we would never get in the first place if a toll was not put on it but there should be no speed reductions or traffic hold-ups.”
Fraser was also concerned for trucking companies “as they would be paying a lot more when multiplying by 60 or more truck movements per day”.
Taylor Bros Transport health and safety manager Jason Fawcett said they made use of the toll roads regularly “to ensure our customer loads are delivered promptly”.
“Delays can be costly but [we] understand road improvement and new projects can temporarily impact on speeds and road layouts.”
Any toll increase would form part of the company’s strategic business pricing reviews for customers, he said.
The toll for Auckland’s Northern Gateway (SH1) will also increase. Car and motorcycle users will now pay $2.60 from July 1, and heavy vehicle users will pay $5.20.
Transport agency regional manager of maintenance and operations Rob Campbell said tolls helped fund much-needed roads.
“In the instance of Tauranga Eastern Link and Takitimu Drive, tolling was utilised to fund the roads much sooner than would have otherwise been possible. So it’s worth noting that tolling isn’t there because it offers a higher ‘standard’ of road, but it is there because those roads may not exist if we hadn’t borrowed the money to build them. When the costs have been recovered the tolls will be removed.”
Campbell said they assessed all new state highways and significant upgrades to existing state highways for tolling suitability.
“There was considerable public support for the tolling in Tauranga. For example, In 2009, the public were consulted on whether they supported Tauranga Eastern Link being a toll road so construction could start up to 10 years earlier. Tolling received significant community support (92 per cent both conditional and unconditional),” he said.
Campbell said the agency appreciated roadworks were frustrating “but in the case of TEL, the work is happening to enable the city to grow by connecting new housing areas and industrial areas to the arterial route”.
The disruption was believed to add just a few minutes to the journey.
“For Takitimu, ongoing maintenance is an important aspect of any road, and this work was undertaken to remedy sections of road prior to the colder, wetter winter months,” Campbell said.
“Waka Kotahi worked with the maintenance contractor to minimise disruption as best possible, by working at night and utilising a variety of traffic management plans to ensure traffic could move as efficiently as possible.”
Revenue from all toll roads was spent on debt repayments and operating costs.
