Wellington councils working on congestion charging proposal

The following joint statement on congestion charging was issued by Wellington Mayor Tory Whanau and Greater Wellington chair Daran Ponter on Sunday 25 August.

 Statement from Tory Whanau, Mayor of Wellington.

"Earlier this month the Government announced its intention to move forward with congestion charging.  This provides a unique opportunity for Wellington to change the way we run and fund our transport network.  

Wellington has the second worst peak hour congestion in the country after Auckland. Every weekday morning tens of thousands of cars drive at a crawl along the motorway and into the city.  We are a small compact city, but peak hour trips take 70% longer than the average drive. 

Congestion charging would place a small fee on people travelling into or out of the CBD at peak hours. Doing so encourages commuters to either drive at a different time or utilize our public transport system.  The end result is fewer traffic jams, quicker trips and fewer carbon emissions.  

At the moment we have higher fares for peak hour bus and train trips, but not for cars. If we truly want to become a low carbon city, we need to flip this around. 

I want to grab this opportunity for Wellington and am committed to working with our regional Council to develop a proposal for congestion charging.   

This will be part of the wider work our Council is doing to develop a fully integrated transport plan for the city.  When that paper comes to Council next month I will be asking that congestion charging is included as part of the package.  

Not only will congestion charging improve traffic and encourage people to use public transport, but it provides a much-needed alternative to rates when it comes to funding our transport.  

Right now transport makes up the second biggest chunk of our rates bills after water.  By raising revenue through congestion charging we can invest in transport without having to put more and more pressure on your rates. 

For me, the priority is investing in fast, accessible and affordable public transport so that people have a great alternative to travelling by car at peak hour.  

While we may not agree on everything, I welcome the Government’s introduction of congestion charging.  It is a bold move and I want to ensure Wellington grabs this opportunity to build a faster, more affordable and environmentally sustainable transport system."

Statement from Daran Ponter, Chair of Greater Wellington.

"If the goal is to reduce congestion on the roads, the most effective way to spend revenue from a congestion or time of use charge in Wellington is to invest in improving public transport.

Wellington's public transport system is already very well used with bus trips now at all time record highs and - if the funding is available - it is relatively straightforward to scale up capacity and frequency by adding bus and rail services. We can also make public transport more attractive by capping weekly fares in ways that encourage people with longer journeys to take the bus and the train more often.

More people on public transport means fewer people on the roads and less congestion and we are looking forward to working with the Wellington City Council on a proposal to the government to improve our overall transport system and ease congestion on the roads."