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Wednesday, July 10, 2024

Dr Matthew Birchall: Driving change - How road pricing can improve our roads

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The New Zealand Initiative’s report proposes a comprehensive reform of the country's transport funding model. The report, Driving Change: How Road Pricing Can Improve Our Roads, authored by Senior Fellow Dr Matthew Birchall, argues that the current fuel tax based system is outdated and unfair.

Key points:
  1. The report proposes a new "Smart Road User Charges" (Smart RUC) system to replace the current fuel excise duty.
  2. Under Smart RUC, all vehicles would be charged based on actual road usage, time of day, and vehicle type.
  3. The proposed system aims to reduce congestion, improve road maintenance, and ensure a fairer distribution of costs.
  4. A five-year implementation plan is outlined, allowing for a gradual transition.
"Transporting New Zealand, the national road freight association, welcomes the New Zealand Initiative’s report on comprehensive road pricing," says Billy Clemens, Policy & Advocacy Lead at Transporting New Zealand. "Increasing levels of congestion and the declining state of our roading network are disrupting the supply chain and restricting economic growth. It also makes achieving safety and emissions improvements difficult. We need innovative policy solutions that make our roading network function better for everyone."

The report addresses common concerns about road pricing, including privacy and equity issues, and draws on successful international examples from cities like Singapore and Stockholm.

"This is not just about raising revenue," Dr Birchall adds. "It's about creating a more efficient, sustainable, and fair transport system for all New Zealanders."

The New Zealand Initiative calls on policymakers to seriously consider this proposal as a solution to the country's growing transport funding crisis.

Click here to download the two-page summary of Driving Change: How Road Pricing Can Improve Our Roads


Click to view or download

Dr Matthew Birchall is a Research Fellow at The New Zealand Initiative, focusing on infrastructure and the housing market. This article was first published HERE
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2 comments:

Hazel Modisett said...

You failed to mention that the way Simpleton Brown & his cohort Nik Legget intend to institute this new payment program is by installing "track & trace" devices in every vehicle in NZ, so I have 2 questions...
Firstly, given that 6 billion has been allocated to build & fix all the roads in NZ, how do they plan to purchase, install, maintain & monitor these devices under that budget unless these costs will be added to the RUC ?
Secondly, given that this hare brained scheme is the most egregious violation of our inalienable rights to privacy & property since the dark days of Vaccine Passports & the Covid fiasco, how do they intend to get a Bill through Parliament that is such a stark violation of our rights & a direct contravention of the Bill of Rights ?
I for one will NOT be complying with this BS & I am confident that there are 10s if not 100s of thousands of NZers that feel the same. They have stepped WAY over the line with this one & need to stay in their own lane & focus on their core responsibilities instead of figuring out new ways of forcing people into using tech they do not trust, as we all know that the next step with these devices will be remote ticketing for "alleged" traffic offences with zero transparency & no right of recourse. This idiot plan, like Digital IDs & CBDCs is just another device of centralised, totalitarian control & they can stick it where the sun doesn't shine...

July 10, 2024 at 2:27 PM
Robert Arthur said...

Seems to me like a push from some lobby group with an eye on the electronics installations necessary. A bonanaza for some like air conditoners, extractor fans, insulation etc. A fuel tax is reasonable and captures carbon contribution. Unfair for low mileage older vehicles with notably poor mpg but these fading fast.

July 10, 2024 at 4:13 PM

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