Road congestion charges are one step closer in Tauranga and motorists could pay $3 for a peak hour 6km trip from Bayfair Shopping Centre in Mount Maunganui to the city centre.

If the charges aren’t introduced it would mean “economic catastrophe and terrible wellbeing for communities”, a Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency staff member warns.

The commission decided to consult on variable road pricing, or congestion charges, at a Tauranga City Council meeting on Monday.

Council structure planning and strategic transport team leader Alistair Talbot says the road pricing could be a “considerable funding source”.

The SmartTrip Variable Road Pricing Study estimates it could produce $88 million in net revenue a year by 2035 and that would increase to $158m by 2048.

The money earnt would be reinvested in the Tauranga transport network to create a better roading network, more efficient public transport services and better cycling and walking facilities.

The study also showed the charges could lead to reduced congestion, more reliable travel times, reduced emissions and mode shift from people using cars to alternative modes of transport, he said.

Congestion charges aren’t used in New Zealand. They were first introduced in Singapore in 1975, and since then other cities including London and Milan have adopted the practice.

 A law change would be needed to implement road pricing but cross party support is growing and the Government has drafted legislation.

Waka Kotahi and the council worked together on the study exploring the viability and impacts of VRP in Tauranga.

Variable road pricing would replace the current tolls on the Takitimu Northern Link and the Tauranga Eastern Link.

Pricing would change based on the time of day and where people were accessing the road network from.

The priced roads are outlined in purple and include the state highway network around Tauranga. Image: Tauranga City Council.

One concept in the “high level” study showed the priced network would include the state Highway ring around the Te Papa Peninsula (SH2, SH29, SH29A), SH2 and TNL from Te Puna, and the TEL.

There would be a charge for accessing the Te Papa Peninsula that runs from Greerton to Sulphur Point and includes Tauranga’s CBD, or entering the priced network of roads and a distance based charge as well.

The concept suggested a peak charge of $2 for light vehicles entering the roads then a charge of 15c per kilometre. For a heavy vehicle this would be $5 to access the road the 38c per kilometre.

For a truck travelling along the TEL to the Port of Tauranga on Totara Street a journey would cost $15 under this concept. Currently trucks pay a $5.60 toll for a one way trip on the TEL.

Talbot says there are limitations with the study because it's still at the “proof of concept” stage and further technical analysis is needed.

The road pricing scheme has the potential to impact “people’s equity”, for those on lower incomes, so the next lot of work will need to address that, he says. 

“Technologically road pricing is viable for a city with the population density of Tauranga when considered relative to where it's operated elsewhere in the world.”

“The enduring transport challenge particularly for cities is actually geometry and by that I mean the physical space allocated to moving people in vehicles,” says Waka Kotahi strategy system leadership advisor Richard Hurn.

Even in future if there is a decarbonised network of electric vehicle and possibly autonomous vehicles the problem of geometry remains, he says.

“Road pricing is the most effective tool to address the challenge of geometry in the future.”

The study “significantly understated” what the price point would need to be in reality as well as the mode shift to public transport, says Hurn.

Although a “much improved” public transport service is needed, he says.

Commissioner Stephen Selwood described the current tolling system as having "dumb tolls". Photo: John Borren/SunLive.

During Monday's meeting, commissioner Stephen Selwood asked what the road network and congestion would be like given the current funding situation, if road pricing wasn’t introduced in Tauranga.

Hurn responded: “Economic catastrophe and terrible wellbeing for communities and I don't think that's overstating it.”

Selwood was quick to point out the council was just consulting on the option for road pricing and investigating it further.

It was “really important” the community understood the outcome of either proceeding with road pricing or not, said Selwood, a former chief executive of Infrastructure New Zealand.

“I think the danger in any of these conversations, is that we always focus in on the toll or the price or the charge, and we don't consider what it's delivering.”

He described the current Tauranga tolls as “dumb tolls” because they don’t change.

“What SmartTrip is about is changing that according to the level of demand. The key benefit from a road user point of view, who are going to be paying the toll, is that they would get a faster trip, and so you start to get value for money instead of just paying a dumb toll.”

The council will consult on road pricing as part of the Long-Term Plan 2024-34 later in the year.

Public Interest Journalism funded through NZ On Air.