Businessman Bob Clarkson is opposing Tauranga City Council's move to raise the tolls on Route K.

Earlier this month the council approved a 50 cent increase in car tolls on Route K, raising them from $1 to $1.50 – this increase is out for public consultation.

Tauranga businessman Bob Clarkson says increasing the Route K toll is bad for individuals and insignificant for businesses – so what's the point?

'If they want to ruin Tauriko industrial area, go ahead and do it,” says Bob, a commercial property developer with commercial interests in the area.

'Businesses are struggling now without putting the tolls up – and just remember tolls affect the employee, not the trucks,” says Bob.

'So I mean that's the worse thing they could possibly do.

'So they need to get rid of the debt? Ask the National government to take half the debt maybe, and put the rest on the rates bill or something. They have got to deal with it.

'You can't just keep putting prices up, I mean that's just gong to kill the businesses.

'That's just dumb if you do that.”

Bob believes a major supermarket and retail precinct development at Tauriko is still two years away, but a recent completion was a bus assembly plant that now employs 146 people.

'A very big percentage of those are now going to be affected if they put the tolls up,” says Bob. 'Well, that's just naughty.

'I don't believe in tolls within the city boundaries.

'Tolls on state highways is okay and I would willingly pay that, but I don't believe that you should have tolls in cities – it splits the town up.

'You'll isolate Tauriko if you do that. There's got to be better way. Put the petrol price up or whatever's necessary.”

Bob points to the experience of the Sydney Cross City Tunnel for the impact tolls have.

When tolls were initially introduced, traffic dropped to 20,000 vehicles per day.

When they were lifted usage expanded to 53,000 vehicles per day, dropping back to 27,000 when the tolls were re-introduced.

'Nobody used the damn thing so they took the tolls off for a couple of weeks and everybody used it, they put the tolls back on and very few people used it again,” says Bob.

'So doesn't that prove a point – there's got to be a better way.

'If the government came out and explained why they were putting the petrol price up, so we ended up with some good roads, I think the people would tolerate it.

'You don't need to go up much, there're million and million of gallons of petrol and diesel sold.”

Bob, a former National party MP and now Act party supporter, says he will not be standing as an Act party candidate in Tauranga for the general election.

'I will just be a spokesman answering questions.”

The first increase in Route K tolls since they were first imposed in 2003 is to make the road financially viable – a requirement if the NZ Transport Agency is ever to take it off the council's hands.

The car toll increase also brings Route K tolls in line with the projected toll on the Eastern Link highway.

The toll increases are expected to take effect in January 2012.

The council is also proposing a toll-free exemption period in February so it can assess how much traffic is choosing alternative routes because of the toll.

The new bylaw also allows other paying options for users, including a stored value card and brings the toll road's operations into alignment with the Land Transport Management Act, instead of the Route K Empowering Act.

The change of legal framework is necessary, should Route K's operation be taken up by the NZTA.

The Tauranga City Council's Route K public consultation period is open until October 25.