Road Freight Association Backs Time Of Use Charging Bill, But Flags Cost Concerns

National road freight association Transporting New Zealand has backed congestion charging legislation, but says that amendments are necessary to maximise savings for consumers and businesses.

In its 27 April submission to the Transport and Infrastructure Select Committee, Transporting New Zealand has proposed four improvements to the draft legislation that would help maximise network efficiency and incentivise buy-in from the road freight sector and their customers:

1. Exempting freight and public transport vehicles from liability to pay time of use charges.

2. Charging light and heavy vehicles at the same rate, rather than penalising larger, more efficient vehicles.

3. Requiring time of use charging scheme assessments to include the expected impacts on the supply chain and freight movement.

4. Allowing short-term trials ahead of confirming a time of use charging scheme proposal.

Transporting New Zealand Head of Policy & Advocacy Billy Clemens says that these recommendations reflect the fact that road freight demand is inflexible - driven by customers’ ‘capacity to receive’.

"We know from international experience that congestion charges do not result in material changes in freight vehicles travelling at peak times.

"Without appropriate protections in the legislation, congestion charges act as unavoidable taxes on freight operators, raising costs for businesses and consumers without meaningfully improving traffic gridlock.

"Our members don’t want to have to pass these charges onto their customers, and deal with the associated administration costs.

Clemens said that congestion charging was a contentious issue in the road freight industry, with a diverse range of views being captured in their 2025 Road Freight Survey, due to be released tomorrow (1 May 2025).

"42 per cent of road freight operators surveyed in the 2025 Road Freight Survey stated they supported or strongly supported the use of congestion charging, 23 per cent were neutral and 32 per cent disagreed or strongly disagreed. The remaining 3 per cent indicated they were unsure.

"78 per cent of operators agreed that road freight should be exempt from congestion charging, with 16 per cent being neutral and 6 per cent disagreeing.

Transporting New Zealand had also reviewed the submission of Auckland Council, and agreed with their statement that time of use charging must work for Auckland, as the city most likely to put in place a time of use charging scheme.

"The Council has made some important points around governance and revenue provisions, and complementary measures such as public transport improvements. We hope the Committee will give them careful consideration so we get workable legislation passed."

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