$28b Auckland transport package has little for EVs

A $28 billion programme to improve Auckland’s transport and ease congestion over the next decade has little for electric vehicles.

The packages are all about trying to decongest Auckland rather than switching motive power, Drive Electric board member and Audi New Zealand general manager Dean Sheed says.

“However, as a by-product (either strategic or by chance) the double whammy on fuel taxes will drive more people to consider electric vehicles as a viable alternative for obvious reasons.”

Auckland motorists can expect to pay about an extra 20-25 cents for a litre once the fuel levies apply.

Sheed says while road taxation versus tolling and its effects on consumers can be debated, it’s another strong reason to consider electric.

“In my view the Auckland Council and Government could have been more direct on packages to enhance EV uptake,” Sheed says. “However, infrastructure was clearly their agenda on this occasion.”

Projects covered in the package include light rail, the tolled Whangaparaoa Peninsula bridge across the Weiti River to Redvale and the northern motorway– known as Penlink, and Mill Road in the south to improve the connection from Manukau through Takanini to Drury.

Heavy rail and bus upgrades, safety improvements, and more dedicated cycle lanes are also planned.

The package will form part of the 30-year Auckland Transport Alignment Project (ATAP).

The updated ATAP indicative package provides the expected big boost to public transport infrastructure, headed by light rail (city-airport and northwest corridor) as well as obvious projects on heavily congested roads in South Auckland and the North Shore, Auckland Business Chamber head Michael Barnett says.

He says clear targets need to be set against which progress can be measured, including completion dates and timelines for key projects and congestion reduction.