Summary
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The New Zealand Automobile Association (AA) describes itself as “New Zealand’s biggest club” with over 1 million members.
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A 2024 survey of AA members shows strong opposition to congestion charges.
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Previous surveys of AA members have also shown strong opposition to congestion charges and Tauranga’s proposed road pricing scheme.
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A 2017 survey targeting AA members in Auckland indicated that 64% were willing to consider congestion charges, though only 31% answered “consider it now”.
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As an organisation the AA is generally more supportive of congestion charges than its average member.
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One AA policy adviser was advocating an “incremental” implementation of congestion charges to get the public to support the schemes.
What is the AA?
The AA (New Zealand Automobile Association Inc.) has described itself as “New Zealand’s biggest club”. In 2017, it boasted over a million members representing about 30% of the licensed drivers in New Zealand and approximately 20% of the whole New Zealand population at the time.
What are AA members’ views on congestion charges and other road pricing?
In 2024, 16,000 AA members were surveyed with the majority of responses were strongly opposed to congestion charges. It was reported that less than 1/3 of those responding thought congestion charges “should be given serious consideration”. That survey only targeted AA Members in Auckland, Tauranga, and Wellington.
An earlier survey targeted Tauranga AA Members in 2023 and asked about the variable road pricing scheme proposed for that city. The survey found that 72.3% of people who responded strongly opposed the scheme. A further 10.8% were mostly opposed. Only 5% of those responding chose “strongly support” or “mostly support” to describe their feelings about the road pricing concept. Most of those surveyed indicated that if road pricing was introduced they would start avoiding trips for exercise, sport, shopping, socialising, entertainment, and travel while at work. According to the survey results these people would not switch to alternative transport for the trip, they would simply not go on the trip.
In 2020, the AA surveyed 1600 members in Auckland and Wellington and asked what they thought about congestion charges. 45% of those responding chose the “I don’t like the idea” option with a further 26% choosing the “It depends/don’t know” option.
“The survey results tell a clear story: selling congestion charging to the public will not be easy. AA Members are familiar with the concept, and many have had first-hand experience of it, but they are far from ready to embrace it.
Asked how they felt about congestion charging, the largest group of respondents (45%) said they were opposed to it, while 29% supported it, and 26% were unsure.”
AA Principal Advisor Barney Irvine, Auckland Matters, Issue 11 Congestion Charging Part II, October 2020
Back in 2017, the AA reported results from a survey on future congestion charges in Auckland. The survey asked people if they thought the government should consider charging “…on congested roads to encourage people to avoid them at busy times”. Targeting Auckland AA members, the survey had 30% answering “never”, 33% answering “maybe in the future”, and 31% answering “consider it now”. The majority of AA members surveyed agreed that congestion was a major issue in the larger cities.
What is the AA’s positions on these issues as an organisation?
As an organisation the AA presents mixed views on road pricing. Generally the organisation appears more supportive of congestion charges than the average AA member, with at least one AA policy adviser actively promoting congestion charge schemes. The AA’s reporters and advisers recognise congestion as a major problem and see congestion charges as a possible solution.
“With time, money, and a measure of commuters’ sanity all being lost in traffic jams in our most clogged cities, congestion charging is under the spotlight as a possible solution.
The Government is set to legislate to allow for congestion charging, now known as time-of-use charging. The AA says a clear, fair balance needs to be struck between reducing traffic and keeping roads accessible to those who need to use them…
The AA is mindful that time-of-use charging has not been introduced anywhere that closely mirrors New Zealand’s low-density, car-centric cities. Those cities that do have congestion charging schemes in Europe and Asia have dense public transport networks that offer genuine, and often better, alternatives to driving.
Survey results of 16,000 Auckland, Tauranga and Wellington AA Members reveal considerable scepticism towards congestion charging. Fewer than one in three thought it should be given serious consideration, with many having concerns about whether it would be fair, affordable, or effective; others felt such a scheme might be too focused on revenue.
When considering its position on congestion charging, the AA took into account the views of AA Members as well as the lack of precedents with time-of-use charging in similar cities. It has also considered the fact that congestion will only get worse with population growth, and that there is a lack of other meaningful solutions to address the problem.
The Association is therefore open to, but cautious about the idea of time-of-use charging. Authorities need to address these concerns – effectiveness, equity, public support, and revenue allocation – before a case can be made for its introduction.”
Congestion charging: what do AA Members want? AA Directions Magazine, Spring 2024
“The AA can be described as a cautious supporter of congestion charging. We recognise the potential benefits for the transport system in general, but we also see that it is still very challenging territory for our Members and for much of the public, and a lot more work is needed to prove that it makes sense. In our view, now is not the time for definitive pro/anti positions – rather, the priority is to develop the case and generate public discussion around it… The AA has therefore sought to champion the debate around congestion charging, rather than championing congestion charging per se.”
AA Principal Advisor Barney Irvine, Auckland Matters, Issue 11 Congestion Charging Part II , October 2020
AA Principal Advisor Barney Irvine has been advocating for congestion charges in Auckland and also recognised that public discussions are need on the issue. The policy adviser recommended an incremental approach to bringing in congestion charges and analysed potential opposition to the schemes. The policy adviser also warned against officials trying to initially implement a larger, nationwide road pricing scheme of the sort recently promoted by New Zealand Institute’s Senior Fellow Dr Matthew Birchall. Opposing the use of incrementalism to manipulate the public into accepting these schemes, CityWatch NZ editor (and AA member) John McDonald has recently written an opinion piece on the strategy.
“Any steps forward should be strictly incremental, for sometime yet. Big-bang or binding decisions early on risk derailing the whole discussion. Practical trials, with the opportunity for meaningful public feedback, will be critical, and any eventual implementation should be a phased: starting with a low-coverage scheme (i.e., a CBD cordon toll), and progressing over time into a broader-based approach.
Officials must resist any urge to bypass the discussion of an Auckland congestion charge in order to focus on a ‘Holy Grail’ road pricing solution – i.e., a nationwide distance-based charging scheme (one that incorporates a congestion charge and replaces fuel tax). If implementing congestion charging is contingent on such a scheme being in place, we will be waiting a very long time.”
AA Principal Advisor Barney Irvine, Auckland Matters, Issue 11 Congestion Charging Part II, October 2020
Further reading on this issue
New Zealand Initiative Report: Driving Change – How road pricing can improve our roads
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