Congestion fees on table

More than 40,000 commuters could soon be stung with a fee to drive into Wellington’s central city.

Transport Minister Michael Wood left the door to that change firmly ajar yesterday, saying he was keeping an ‘‘open mind’’ on amending legislation to make congestion charging available to local councils. ‘‘I have heard from regional leaders it could be a useful tool,’’ he told The Dominion Post.

‘‘Internationally, congestion charging has been shown to be pretty successful in helping to unclog cities, and the Climate Change Commission has recommended giving councils the tools they need . . . to reduce emissions.’’

Wellington mayor Andy Foster said he expected the proposal to be released for public feedback in the next few months alongside design options for major projects in the Let’s Get Wellington Moving programme. The news comes as the Government explores a similar scheme for Auckland, and the Wellington region’s councils continue to plead for extra funding streams to pay for their 40 per cent share of the $6.4 billion transport upgrade.

Charging typically works similarly to toll roads, with cameras capturing numberplates of vehicles that enter certain areas or routes at different times of the day.

There are only eight cities in the world that have adopted congestion charging, with New York set to become the ninth, according to public policy think-tank The New Zealand Initiative.

A report released by the organisation last year found the scheme had reduced traffic congestion and journey times in many of those cities. In targeted areas, vehicle numbers had dropped by up to 45 per cent in Dubai, 44 per cent in Singapore, 34 per cent in Milan, 20 per cent in Stockholm, and 16 per cent in London.

The New Zealand Initiative chief economist Dr Eric Crampton yesterday said there were several benefits to the scheme. They included easing congestion, making better use of existing transport networks, and providing costeffective alternatives to building

more roads. However, the schemes had to be designed to ensure vehicles did not simply clog up other roads, as had been the case in Dubai, Crampton said.

The latest Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency figures show an average of 44,500 light vehicles a day entered Wellington city from the north on State Highways 1 and 2 in the seven days to June 6.

Wellington City Council said 26,281 vehicles entered the city centre on an average weekday.

Let’s Get Wellington Moving was due to release options and costs for three major projects in the next few months: a mass rapid transit system, an extra Mt Victoria tunnel, and a new road at the Basin Reserve.

Foster said funding tools would be proposed alongside those options. The potential tools included congestion charging, long-stay parking levies, and a new tax on property values if they rise due to public investment. ‘‘I am very pleased the Government is moving in this direction,’’ Foster said. ‘‘From our perspective, we have for a long time said we need these tools as behaviour modifiers and alternative funding sources to help pay for the local funding share of Let’s Get Wellington Moving.’’

The acting programme director of Let’s Get Wellington Moving, David Dunlop, said work was ongoing to finalise possible traffic reduction measures, including parking levies and other user charges. ‘‘We expect to publish findings from this work as part of public engagement later in the year.’’