Property Council New Zealand welcomes the opportunity to provide feedback on the Transport and Infrastructure Committee’s Inquiry into Congestion Pricing in Auckland (“the Inquiry”). We support the Inquiry as it aims to improve network performance and reduce congestion. It is timely given Auckland’s projected population growth and the pressures this would place on transport networks and infrastructure in the near future.
This inquiry is important to our members as key stakeholders in the design and function of Auckland city.
While we support the inquiry, it is important to ensure that introduction of congestion charging has to be coupled with other initiatives. Therefore, we recommend the following:
- proceed with introducing a congestion pricing scheme in Auckland to fund future infrastructure projects while ensuring that funding arrangements reflect more fairly and accurately those that directly benefit from services;
- ensure that introduction of congestion charging is coupled with increased availability of alternative modes of transport;•encourage more express busways, such as the Northern Express busway to provide other options to driving; and
- work closely with Auckland Council, Auckland Transport, the private sector, and other key stakeholders to identify potential missing transport links to ensure better connectivity throughout the city;
- ensure ease of technology used for pricing for congestion charging; and
- transparency around how the revenue raised would be used and would integrate with other revenue streams.