A couple of issues ago I lampooned the clowns who took it upon themselves to disrupt law-abiding, road-user tax paying motorists on the Auckland Harbour Bridge. My argument was (and still is) if cyclists want a cycleway they should contribute to the building of such, and I’m not talking about general taxation or rates, I’m talking about tolls and so forth. Why shouldn’t they pay? Why shouldn’t they pay ACC fees like motorcyclists and motorists? Cyclists have accidents too, don’t they? They also often have them on roads that they contribute little toward.
The other day I was investigating the government’s pledge to invest billions of dollars in our state highways and I stumbled across the Cycling Advocates Network (CAN) website. Harmless enough, you might think, until I discover that CAN has recommended that government increase fuel tax by twenty cents per litre in “year one” and another ten cents in “year two”. Where do these loonies get off? I nearly fell off my chair! All that is going to do is remove food from our table thank you very much.
We (my betrothed and I) need, yes need, to drive on a daily basis. Our home is 28km from my partner’s place of work and 25km from mine. If you think that (to avoid suggested, ridiculous fuel taxes) we are going to ride bicycles that distance carrying groceries, head down into a howling southerly with a chill factor of minus 300 degrees Kelvin you’ve got another think coming. The lunatic fringe in New Zealand appears to be expanding at an exponential rate and it won’t be long before normal, hard working people, going about (and minding) their own business, will be a minority group.
Fuel taxes are high enough in this country and while, in reality, we enjoy reasonable fuel prices in comparison to many OECD countries I doubt anyone would like to see prices leap by thirty cents a gallon just as a strong-arm incentive to hop on a bicycle all in the name of reduced global warming, doomsayer-waffle, don’t-start-me, gasses. At this point I would hasten to add that many bicycles on the market today are made in China and the emissions produced in making those bicycles would far exceed what our little commuter box pushes out, I can assure you. If CAN wants to prevent ‘global warming’ I suggest they stop spouting hot air.
Now; a billion dollars is apparently going to be spent on our highways in the next three years. Sounds great but there’s always a catch, right? Just as irritating as the above might be, the fact is the government plans to extract about a third of that billion with increased fuel taxes. Thanks for that. In the same breath they propose to increase the maximum allowable load on heavy trucks from 44 tonnes to 53 tonnes. (Correct me if I’m wrong.) There are bridges to strengthen, some corners to widen and much more besides, so who is going to get the maximum benefit from the billion dollars spent? Sure Road User Fees will cover a certain amount but why is it I get the distinct aroma of rodent here?
The heavy transport industry is big in NZ, meaning there are a lot of trucks on our roads. Some would suggest that to have larger loads would mean fewer trucks while I’d say “don’t hold your breath”. Over time the trailers will be lengthened to accommodate the bigger loads (and let’s not forget we’re talking around a 20% increase here) so it stands to reason that it will take you longer to pass them. Alternatively you can put your foot down a tad harder and run the gauntlet of revenue collectors who will be strategically placed to nab you doing just that. Sounds like a conspiracy, doesn’t it?
I have read that state highways represent 11% of our roading system but carry 50% of the traffic; a large volume of that 50% is heavy transport. I sincerely hope that some of the projected expenditure goes into additional passing lanes but my gut tells me a large amount will be sucked up by cost overruns, budget blowouts and administration costs. We’ll probably get one or two bridges strengthened and a corner or two shaved off but I doubt that too much will change. I also hope that regional roads, not included in the government’s plan, don’t suffer too much and cause a horrendous increase in local rates.
Heavy fleet operators might argue that the increase will be beneficial by way of decreased fuel consumption, increased productivity and the roads can handle the higher loading because in NZ trucks have a fairly high axle-load ratio. There may be some truth in that and I’d be more likely to listen to those who are contributing to the cost of improvements.
As for banning cell phone usage while driving; good job I say.
Cartoon by Steve Richards
