The decongestion of Auckland roads is crucial to freeing the movement of freight and realising New Zealand’s economic potential, says Road Transport Forum chief executive Ken Shirley.
“I congratulate those organisations that commissioned the NZIER report including our member association the National Road Carriers, for highlighting how pressing the need is to deal with Auckland’s congestion issues,” says Shirley.
“It is a rather eye-watering assessment of the cost to New Zealand,” says Shirley. “An annual productivity loss of more than $1 billion is a serious issue that requires urgent attention.”
“As the report points out 16.2% of New Zealand’s freight movements are within Auckland, and 25% of cargo have an origin or destination in Auckland, so we are talking about a significant chunk of the overall logistics picture,” he says.
“This report is particularly useful because it encourages evidenced based decision-making and goes beyond the usual political whims that so often contaminate discussion around transport,” says Shirley.
“However, the report is unequivocal that there is no single silver bullet to dealing with Auckland’s congestion issues. The answer lies in a combination of multi-modal solutions and demand management strategies,” he says.
“Roading projects such as the East-West Link, a third or even fourth main rail line, central rail loop and congestion charging all have a role to play in freeing up traffic and freight movements,” says Shirley.
The Road Transport Forum implores the local and central government to speed up the implementation of such initiatives.
“Congestion charging, for example, is something that could be accelerated right away. As the report highlights the need for decongestion measures is now, not in 6-10 years’ time,” he says.
