Regions Say ‘No’ To Big Trucks
September 11th, 2009
Regional transport committees for most of the upper North Island - including Auckland - oppose allowing heavier trucks on main roads despite Govt and industry predictions of productivity gains and fuel savings. Local Government NZ has also raised concern about the costs for ratepayers of fixing local roads, as diesel road user charges cover only half the bill through the national land transport fund.
It has warned the Govt it is unlikely many permits will be issued by its members as road controlling authorities. But some local councils, including Auckland City, have supported the new system subject to conditions. Under the proposed changes, road controlling authorities would be responsible for issuing permits for standard-sized vehicles to operate on specified routes with weights between the current maximum of 44 tonnes and a proposed new limit of 53 tonnes.
Road Transport Forum chairman Simon Tapper says the changes will give environmental as well as economic gains by reducing truck movements. He says his company Tapper Transport alone could cut 10,000 round trips from the 50,000 made annually between its Onehunga hub and the Auckland waterfront; taking 280,000km a year out of the equation - the emission cuts would be huge.
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