Alternative Transport Funding?
Auckland Council Debates Alternative Transport Funding
Remember in February when through the casting vote from the Chair of the Strategy and Finance Committee denied the ratepayer to have a debate on whether asset sell downs could be part of the options available to fund our mega transport projects (Alternative Transport Funding) (see Time to Go? post)? Well that Alternative Transport Funding proposal has found its way back into the media with this article from Stuff:
Motorists to pay for city transport projects
Taxes and charges could bankroll projects
Auckland Council is to present a proposal to the Government advocating fuel taxes, congestion and network charges and additional car parking fees to help pay for the city’s major transport projects. The user-pays charges will be considered by the council on Thursday to help fund a second harbour crossing, a $2.8 billion city rail link, major works to quicken road trips to Whangaparoa, rail links to the airport and an east-west link.
What I like about the article is this bit:
Aucklanders will get a say on the plan before any final decisions are made.
The report follows a discussion document released earlier this year entitled “Getting Auckland Moving”. Eighty-five per cent of submitters felt additional funding was needed to pay for the city’s transport needs. The five most popular options were tolling on new roads, regional fuel taxes, congestion charging, development contributions and additional car parking charges.
Yeah well it seems only the tax and more tax options were available with the Centre Left denying any chance of being able to debate any of the other options (that is if we got a debate at all in the first place – not token consultation that was in the end ignored (will soon see come Thursday))…
But yet the reason why the media are starting to run with the Alternative Transport Funding proposals again is because the Auckland Council Governing Body on Thursday are due to hold an extraordinary meeting; in that meeting is Alternative Transport Funding.
Here is the Addendum Agenda covering the Alternative Transport Funding proposal:
Bit of a large and somewhat complex read.
So lets see what new taxes and charges I am going to get slugged with – just to live in Auckland 
Oh and as for alternatives for my rather large transport proposals I had in my submission to the Auckland Plan, lets see I was open to the idea of asset sell downs.
