Aucklanders will have to choose between a range of new motoring charges such as paying up to $2.80 for each motorway journey and more expensive petrol - or significantly worsening traffic congestion, Radio New Zealand reports.
A group advising the Auckland Council today unveiled two new funding options both forecast to cost households about $350 a year, unless they are prepared to live with sharply increasing gridlock.
The options are intended to plug a $12 billion shortfall in traditional funding for a list of transport projects which the council says is needed over the next 30 years.
The so-called Rates and Fuel Tax option would from 2016 add 1 per cent a year to rising property rates, increase petrol prices by 1.2 cents a litre annually for the next nine years, and may toll new roads. The higher petrol tax would apply nationwide and fund transport nationwide.
The Motorway User Charge option from 2019 could mean motorists paying $2.80 to use the motorway system in peak hours, with lower charges off-peak and at no cost overnight. An alternative model includes a flat daytime fee of $2.
If Aucklanders reject both packages, the council says it will be able to finish some new projects including the City Rail Link over the next decade, but then few new investments will be possible.