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Regional Petrol Tax Not The Best Option For Funding A Rail System Which Only Serves Part Of The Region.

The proposal by the Auckland Regional Council to levy a five cent per litre tax on petrol will not go down well with Auckland motorists or with companies which rely on road transport for the delivery of goods and services.

This tax is to be mainly used to repay loans being raised to pay for electrification of  the regional rail system and the purchase of new train units.

However the rail system only covers south and west Auckland, and a small part of east Auckland.

It seems unfair that motorists from throughout the region should be paying for a train service they cannot use.

Commuters from north of the Harbour Bridge and the eastern parts of the region have the choice of inadequate bus services or using their own cars for travel withing the region.

Why should they be paying for new trains?

And its not just the motorists who will pay.

Retail prices of goods and services will increase as manufacturers and suppliers recoup the additonal transport costs srising from the new petrol tax.

We are repeatedly told that the economic success of Auckland is vital to the nation’s economic future.

Transport infrastructure is a vital component in achieving that national economic success, therefore it should be funded by central government – because central government reaps the benefits of econmic success through increased taxation revenue.

And if the revenue projections for the new tax then are not met the responsibility for repaying those huge loans will fall on Auckland’s regional ratepayers.

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