Auckland fires up congestion charging debate

Auckland’s mayor says motorists could soon be charged $5 per trip on the city’s busiest motorways, adding that travelling at peak hours is ‘easily avoidable’. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The Kākā

TL;DR: Auckland Council will discuss tomorrow a push for the new (unformed) National-led Government to legislate congestion charging on Auckland’s motorways from 2026 to replace the fuel tax National has promised to remove.

Mayor Wayne Brown wants $5 ‘time of use’ charges on commuters collected using number plate cameras at Penrose and Te Atatu from ‘next week’ if he could. He says kids shouldn’t have to be driven to and from school and commuters can shift their driving times.

Elsewhere in the news this morning:

• Christopher Luxon and David Seymour are scheduled to finally meet Winston Peters in person in Auckland today for the first time since the election and after Peters was a no-show in Wellington yesterday for Government-forming talks;

• The Commerce Commission has ranked consumers as the lowest priority for consultation in its market study of the banking sector, Rob Stock reports via The Post-$$$ from OIA documents (see table below); and,

• Soft US inflation figures overnight and lower-than-forecast inflation figures here have dragged down market interest rates on hopes the rate hiking cycle is over.

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Auckland launches drive for congestion charges