Media Release: 27 March 2011

Only the rich will soon be able to afford to drive in Auckland

Auckland’s motorists are being targeted by the Council to pay for its transport vision.

“The details of the Auckland spatial plan should be of concern to each and every motorist in Auckland,” says Simon Lambourne, the AA’s Auckland transport spokesperson.

“The spatial plan proposes congestion charges, network access charges, a regional fuel tax, and levies on private parking spaces, as ways to pay for the Council’s public transport improvements. The plan also acknowledges that advancing rail and other public transport initiatives in Auckland will leave critical gaps in the region’s motorway and local roading network.”

“Although the AA is supportive of improving Auckland’s public transport system, it is time for a reality check on what is both practical and achievable.”

“At the moment approximately 80% of travel in Auckland is by car. Even with public transport improvements, in 30 years time about 68% of all travel in Auckland will still be by car. The Council’s spatial plan is putting Auckland’s economy and communities at risk, and it means only the rich will be able to afford to drive in the future.”

“Auckland motorists have already paid for their roads through petrol tax and road user charges. Auckland motorists already subsidise the cost of a train trip by around 60 per cent and the cost of a bus trip by approximately 50 per cent. Now the Council wants Auckland motorists to pay the billions of dollars it will cost for train, bus and ferry improvements.”

“Auckland motorists do not have an endless supply of money. They are hurting from near record high fuel costs and they already contribute more than their fair share to the cost of Auckland transport.”

“The Council seems to have conveniently forgotten its transport vision could equally be funded through debt and investment bonds. Spreading the repayment costs across several generations using household rates, is a much fairer and sensible way to fund the region’s transport needs.”

“We can all think of wonderful ways to improve Auckland transport, but we also need to be realistic about how much these ideas will cost, what the priorities are, and how we can pay for them. We need to reflect on what we absolutely must have and what we can afford to have – we simply cannot waste time on things that would be nice to have if we cannot afford them,” says Mr Lambourne.

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