Fuel tax to go but RUC for all vehicles – National

National proposes dropping fuel taxes and placing road user charges (RUC) on all vehicles, including EVs, should it become the government in 2020.

But EVtalk understands work is already underway by the Ministry of Transport on a shift to such a system, and it is unlikely to be just a National policy.

Associate transport minister Julie Anne Genter indicated in August at the EVworld NZ conference in Auckland that RUC would likely apply to all vehicles at some stage to pay for road works met from fuel taxes now.

The RUC exemption for EVs is set to expire in 2021 when a Clean Car plan proposed by the Labour-led Government suggests introducing a discount (feebate) scheme rewarding low to zero emission vehicles and an emissions standard for all vehicles.

But National considers the feebate proposal complicated and overly punitive, with the party likely to favour a fuel economy standard instead.

National says it will also increase funding for transport, including using public-private partnerships, if it wins in 2020, Stuff

reports.

That’s all expected to be included in the National Party’s transport discussion document likely to be released by the party’s transport spokesperson Chris Bishop on December 16.

EV and hybrid uptake combined with better fuel economy standards have undermined the principle of a user-pays roading system, according to Bishop who tells Stuff it’s time to “move away from fuel tax as a proxy to road use”.

RUC is charged for each kilometre travelled and paid for by the motorist in advance, with new technology allowing it to be rolled out for all road users eventually.

National is also considering allowing local authorities to introduce congestion charging which can help them fund their own transport projects.