Wellington traffic congestion in 1988 and proposed funding reforms

In 1988 the Dominion ran a major story about traffic congestion in Wellington which reviewed what might be done about it.  It followed on from proposals from Minister Bill Jefferies to combine road and public transport funding and also reflected the view at the time that the future for Wellington transport was not to seek to respond entirely to the growth in car traffic. It noted at the time that 42% of commuters to central Wellington travelled by public transport.  At the time buses in Wellington were provided by Wellington City Transport, which was a WCC owned monopoly, and in the Hutt/Porirua and Kapiti most bus services were provided by Cityline (NZR Road Services), noting that the Ministry of Transport had proposed opening up bus services to competition. 

It was noted that public transport had to be made more attractive, but it was also claimed that within two years (1990) the motorway extension from the Terrace Tunnel to Mt Victoria Tunnel would be started as it was the "highest priority" road project in the Wellington region, following completion of the Mungavin Interchange on SH1 at Porirua.  Of course, the motorway extension did not proceed following the land transport funding and governance reforms of 1989, and the significant cut in funding provided in 1991 that saw the project fail to meet the funding threshold.  The WCC's analysis also suggested a second Terrace Tunnel had good economic benefits but this was seen as a "low priority" regionally (under a funding model that relied on local authorities in the region agreeing on priority projects. 

Ultimately this story was inconclusive, and there would be future articles highlighting the lack of progress in addressing congestion in Wellington.

The article notes the Greater Wellington Land use and Transportation Strategic Review that would also consider whether Transmission Gully would be worth pursuing, but at the time the Transmission Gully proposal was meant to end at Belmont in the Hutt on SH2, which was seen to be adding significantly to congestion on SH2 more generally.  Transmission Gully would be revised in the 1990s to connect to SH1 first at Takapu Road Tawa and later at its current location.  Congestion pricing (called road tolls) was not being considered seriously. 

The article below notes that afternoon accidents cause more congestion than morning ones, but that severe congestion results in few serious accidents because slow traffic causes only minor collisions. Another article confirms Minister Bill Jefferies wanting land transport funding to include public transport, and for motorists to also fund road safety education and enforcement.  MoT had also proposed opening up profitable public transport routes to competition and requiring competitive tendering for subsidised routes (which was ultimately implemented).  Noting that public transport recovers 50-55% of operating costs from fares, with the remainder split between central and local government.  A short article notes the Hutt City Mayor of the time wanting more Wellington offices to relocate to Lower Hutt.  

Overall the conclusions were very open ended. While the motorway extension was expected to make a difference, overall the focus was on changes to the funding system and considering how to make public transport more competitive with driving.

Land transport funding reform in the late 1980s

This post contains a series of newspaper articles from 1988/1989 about discussions on land transport funding reform.  I have a large number of articles from the 1980s and 1990s on these issues which I will include as posts collectively on similar topics from time to time.

2 June 1988 the Evening Post reported on what then Labour Transport Minister Bill Jefferies was considering, which would subsequently result in the merger of the National Roads Board (which by this time was a branch of the Ministry of Transport, following the wind up of the Ministry of Works) with the Urban Transport Council.  The National Roads Board was the decision-making body for central government funding of roads, with extensive local government representation by region. The Urban Transport Council determined central government funding of public transport, which at the time primarily consisted of grants for capital spending to local bus enterprises.  The merger was intended to enable tradeoffs in spending of roads and public transport.  This would ultimately result in creation of Transit New Zealand as a single land transport funding and state highway management agency(hence the name). 

This undated article from around the same time also reports on the intention to deregulate the taxi industry.  It reports in more detail on the restructuring of road functions, with the Ministry of Transport holding the road design and contracting functions, and the road safety education and enforcement roles.  It as noted that while road building and maintenance received funding from RUC and fuel tax, public transport subsidies, safety education and road safety enforcement came from general taxation.  Ultimately all of this would get funded from the National Land Transport Fund.  

The article also notes interest in reviewing public transport monopolies, and using taxis to provide evening services in some communities in place of scheduled public transport services.  

15 August 1988 Evening Post report is a criticism from the AA that road user taxes had been diverted to the Urban Transport Council and the Ministry of Transport, and that this had compromised funding for road safety infrastructure improvements.  The report noted funding had been approved for a median barrier between Johnsonville and Tawa on SH1 north of Wellington (Johnsonville-Porirua motorway) and widening Upper Hutt's River Road which had been the site of multiple fatalities.  It notes failures to fund some additional median barriers.

This undated report from 1988/1989 is one of the earliest reports into New Zealand considering whether technology would enable free-flow road pricing, following a trial in the Netherlands.  The technology is described as using roadside monitors with pre-purchased stored value cards, with number plate recognition cameras.  The Minister at the time, Bill Jefferies describes it as being at the investigation stage, where's Opposition spokesman Maurice McTigue said fuel tax worked well and was fair, and tolling could only be justified for a specific project where alternative funding was needed.

Following that earlier article, road pricing was ruled out by both the Labour Government of the day and the National Opposition.  Minister Jefferies instructed that "no work" was to be done on road pricing.  The AA was opposed because it said $600m of fuel tax was diverted to the Consolidated Fund, at the rate of 21.4c/l.  The MoT's land transport division general manager Allan Kennaird said it was not considered for funding roads, but to manage congestion.  He described the work as being to "keep our ear to the ground",. as it appears the idea was thought as having more support politically than it has.