The Government is considering a demand management and road pricing project, specifically the feasibility and design of a heavy vehicle trial in 2015/16.
Transport Minister Simon Bridges flagged this in an address to the Road Transport Forum Conference last weekend.
Bridges says he wanted to tell the conference delegates more about this work that’s in its early stages.
“Preliminary investigation on heavy vehicles indicates the issues aren’t necessarily congestion, but others, such as safety, noise, and wear and tear,” says Bridges.
“When thinking about a trial, the focus has been around key ports where heavy vehicles are a relatively high proportion of traffic and, in particular, the routes into Auckland and the Port of Tauranga,” he says.
“Could location-specific charging improve safety, noise, and wear and tear?” says Bridges
“This does not be about gathering more RUC from heavy vehicles. It would be about recognising the real cost of heavy vehicles on some roads and the incentives on heavy vehicle operators to minimise their costs,” he says.
“A differential RUC could ensure better safety, less noise, and less wear and tear on some roads and lower RUC on other routes,” says Bridges.
He says State Highway 2 between Auckland and Tauranga takes heavy vehicles through some small towns where issues of safety, noise, and wear and tear are likely to be higher than the alternative route.
“It is worth exploring these matters because using our existing infrastructure through better demand management and pricing could mean more economic growth and productivity,” says Bridges.
“A trial for routes somewhere in our “Golden Triangle” would help us understand what might or might not be possible and what the impact might be even beyond heavy vehicles,” he says
Bridges indicated he would discuss these matters more with the various NZ trucking associations.
