NZ Initiative on congestion charges

A good report from the NZ Initiative:

At the heart of the problem is our transport budget system:
• Fuel tax is a blunt fiscal tool that has survived beyond its time due to the administrative convenience in collecting tax.
• New Zealand’s Road User Charges (RUCs), which apply to diesel-powered vehicles and will soon apply to all electric cars here, are internationally recognised as a successful test case in road funding. That said, both fuel taxes and RUCs fail to price congestion costs.
The solution requires the introduction of congestion charging, which charges drivers higher road user rates at peak times in overcrowded routes.
Road Pricing Benefits:
• Efficient use of roads
• Shorter, safer and more reliable trips
• Higher productivity and wages
• A source of valuable information for future transport investments
• Financial incentives for other modes of transport (public buses, cycling, walking)
Introducing congestion charges can encourage commuters to find trip alternatives, such as other travel times, routes and transport modes. That would reduce the overuse of road services at peak times. In return, to avoid congestion charges becoming “just another tax”, commuters should expect the government to commit to a revenue-neutral system – where every net dollar raised through congestion charges would be offset by, say, a dollar less through property rate collection or lower fuel prices.

Can only agree 1005 with this. A revenue neutral congestion charging system would do more than anything else to reduce congestion.