The introduction of congestion charging could be fairly implemented now around Auckland’s city centre, but more analysis is need in Wellington says new research from the Helen Clark Foundation and consultant WSP.
The report is out ahead of announcements due next Monday on the future of the long-studied policy of charging vehicles to enter city centres, as a way of cutting congestion and emissions.
Separately to the report, a second big shift transport policy is also possible, with the government said to be considering permanently halving public transport fares, as data shows a sharp rise early in a three-month scheme.
In the report on congestion charging, called A Fair Charge for Better Cities, the foundation’s WSP fellow Tom James said an initial cordon around Auckland’s city centre will meaningfully reduce traffic and emissions, and be equitable.
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James said the city centre was already well-served with travel options other than the car, and that much of the city centre workforce comes from the isthmus and North Shore.
“In contrast, very few trips into the CBD are made from the south or southeast, and relatively few from the west,” said the report, meaning the impact on poorer communities would be low.
The report looked at the criteria needed to ensure congestion charging was fair and equitable, and noted that public transport and active modes in the south and west were not up to scratch.
“Any scheme expanded from just the CBD is unlikely to be justified as there are not yet any adequate transport alternatives,” said James.
Chris McKeen/Stuff
Congestion charging would bill motorists for entering the city centres, especially at peak times. (File photo)
Looking at the second city exploring congestion charging, James noted Wellington’s population growth and city centre job growth, and that the opening of Te Ara Nui o Te Rangihaeata/Transmission Gully made car trips into the CBD more appealing.
However, work done by the regional group Let’s Get Wellington Moving suggested Wellington’s geography meant that those from northern suburbs might be hit hardest with “worse travel times from Johnsonville to the airport and hospital during the morning and afternoon peaks”.
Helen Clark Foundation/Supplied
Diagram of proposed staging of congestion charging in Auckland
“Some lower income communities could be disproportionately affected by congestion charging, and further analysis should be undertaken,” said the report.
Congestion charging in Auckland was favoured as far back as 2014 by an Auckland Council-assembled “consensus group” as a way to change travel habits, and in 2021 by a parliamentary select committee.
The government is expected to announce next steps on May 16, when it unveils its Emissions Reduction Plan to deliver climate change emission cuts.
The report said other equity features should be a daily cap on charges, exclusion of overnight trips, providing of suitable alternatives to cars, extensive consultation, and revenue used to improve other modes.
The permanent locking-in of half-price public transport fares is under consideration closer to the end of the present three-month initiative until July.
TOOD NIALL/STUFF
Transport Minister Michael Wood speaks on the first day of half price public transport fares.
Figures from the biggest market – Auckland – show a 50% jump in public transport use since the government-subsidised initiative began on April 1, to 1.2 million trips across the first week of May.
Auckland Transport (AT) said part of the rise is due to the gradual return to more “normal” work and commuting habits as Covid-19 restrictions lessen.
However, there were clear signs of the impact of half price fares, such as a jump in the sale of AT Hop electronic payment cards which are needed for travel by new users.
“There was a 45% increase in new cards sold in the week after [half-fares began] and that has continued, with 80% of those used in the week they were bought,” said Richard Harrison, AT’s manager of Metro Optimisation.
The sharpest increases in trips are on public transport ferry services (excluding Waiheke Island) – up 66%, driven partly by higher travel on weekends – and trains, up 78%.
The government is understood to be waiting for clearer picture over much of the three-month period before deciding.
