Roads do not have to be at Expense of Public Transport

New Roads do not have to be at the Expense of Public Transport

The Wellington Employers’ Chamber of Commerce has called for more balance in the road versus public transport debate and has challenged the government to introduce road pricing as a way of managing transport in New Zealand.

“The Wellington business community is a strong advocate of the government’s road investment program but there is no reason why we can’t have improved public transport as well,” said Chamber CEO Ken Harris.

“It is disappointing the debate has become polarised as road versus public transport. Roading investment can go hand in hand with improved passenger transport and other transport modes.

“As well as being a strong advocate of the proposed roading investment, the Chamber believes in a well developed public transport system for the Wellington region.

“Public transport provides an important alternative to private cars and plays an essential role in reducing congestion. The more people use public transport, the more road space is freed up for people who need to use motor vehicles.

“In Wellington we favour a balanced approach to the transport system to address the city’s unique transport challenges - although at this stage we doubt light rail is the way to go given its expense and inflexibility.

“Given the current funding constraints, now is the time to seriously consider road pricing options. Charging vehicles according to use of roads and time of day would make passenger transport more economic relative to car travel without resorting to the need for expensive public transport subsidies. It would be a fairer and more rational approach to supporting public transport.

“This is something that works well in other countries and the technology is available for New Zealand. We challenge the government to put this on its policy agenda and make it a reality,” Mr Harris concluded.

ENDS

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