Road pricing refuses to acknowledge funding crisis

Wednesday, 7 June 2017, 11:10 am
Press Release: Generation Zero

Road pricing announcement refuses to acknowledge "infrastructure funding crisis"

Auckland Director of Generation Zero, Leroy Beckett, says the road pricing announcement refuses to acknowledge the need to address the infrastructure funding crisis and doesn’t see it as solving the city's transport problems as it intends to replace revenue raised from other areas.

The Minister of Transport, Simon Bridges, today announced terms of reference to establish a project to investigate smarter transport pricing in Auckland.

Mr Beckett says; “Road Pricing is great, and we will welcome it when it is eventually introduced. It is a great form of demand management. The problem is today’s announcement refuses to acknowledge the need to address the infrastructure funding crisis in Auckland."

"Road pricing won’t solve the funding gap. Simon Bridges is ignoring the $7 billion infrastructure funding crisis that Auckland is facing to keep up with growth."

"Auckland right now needs funding for public transport infrastructure. Project’s like light rail, rail to the airport, and the north western busway still remain unfunded." The Minister acknowledges that road pricing won’t raise revenue.

"The simplest most effective way to address the transport funding crisis this is through a regional fuel tax."

"The Government needs to allow a regional fuel tax that will raise enough money for public transport projects that will make a difference so that when road pricing is introduced, Aucklanders have reliable public transport options."

"This is an announcement to agree to look into maybe implementing some form of road pricing at some point in the future. It’s far from a plan to solve congestion, which is a problem Aucklanders are facing today, not in a 30 years."

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