Ryan Bridge: Would you pay $9 to cross the harbour bridge?

The answer depends on whether you can afford it. Congestion charging is coming and that'll add to the cost if you need to drive for work.

This is only a proposal-based on the original toll, inflation-adjusted, almost 70 years ago.

The suggestion, nothing's hard and fast, comes from an Infrastructure Commission report.

We know there'll be a toll to cross the new bridge, or tunnel, whichever gets built.

The government already told us that.

What we know now is that the both the old and the new crossing will be tolled.

So, there's no avoiding it. If you can avoid it, they don't collect the revenue they need to pay for the new one.

Why $9? They reckon it's the sweet spot that will get enough people using it to make enough to pay for the new build, without scaring everybody off and, again, leaving it short on revenue.

So basically, driving a car over the bridge becomes a luxury item. You'll either need to be a bit rich or as happens overseas, your employer will pay for your car or Ute or truck to cross.

And what about everybody else? Well, when the build the new bridge, it'll have bus lanes and other public transport options that'll be cheaper.

Most people, they reckon, will opt for public transport.

Which is fine, so long as public transport suddenly becomes reliable and more linked-up and bus drivers aren't getting stabbed and bashed all the time.

The other point here is.... is $9 actually that much money in the scheme of things? People cross the harbour by ferry for about that price.

BUT there's a cap to how you pay overtime and you usually haven't got car running costs and petrol etc.

So, driving would become a premium option.

The question then becomes, do you not build because $9?

The answer is simple, of course you do.

if we complain about the cost of building stuff and never build a thing we will continue this death spiral we've been in.

We need productivity growth and infrastructure and all those good things.

They don't come from nowhere. They come from good, planed investment.

What we need is good financial controls on the design and construction. We need a government doing the budget, rather gold-plated version.

And we need that government to agree with the one that comes after it that this is a national interest project.

Mess with the bridge and you mess us.

Then just get on a build the thing.

Ryan Bridge is a New Zealand broadcaster who has worked on many current affairs television and radio shows. He currently hosts Newstalk ZB's Early Edition - where this article was sourced.