AA wants congestion charging in Auckland

  • 04/06/2017

Congestion charging won't solve Auckland's traffic woes on its own, says the AA.

Mayor Phil Goff told The Nation on Saturday the Government is set to make a transport announcement in the coming week.

He said it would be about "road pricing", but wouldn't elaborate further. Transport Minister Simon Bridges declined to comment.

The AA's looking forward to decisive action on freeing up the city's gridlock.

"I think we all agree that congestion charging is something that needs to be looked at… as soon as possible," spokesman Barney Irvine told Newshub.

But while a start has to be made right away, Mr Irvine says big changes need to be introduced gradually.

"We think frankly the Government and council are right to be taking a gradual approach with this. Of course we all want to see the benefits sooner, but we think it's right to take a slowly-but-surely approach."

Congestion charging is mentioned in the Auckland Transport Alignment Project, which proposes implementing it over a five-year timespan.

It won't solve the problem on its own however, says the AA.

"It's gonna take some new roads, it's gonna take new public transport, it's going to take new walking and cycling options," says Mr Irvine.

"It's going to take more technology, and it's also going to require some changes in the way we behave, in terms of when, where and how we get around in our cars."

Newshub.