Explainer: Congestion charging is coming to Auckland - but when?

Auckland Council is planning on introducing congestion charges to the city.

Photo: RNZ / Cole Eastham-Farrelly

Explainer: The government and Auckland Council are planning to introduce congestion charging - paying to drive in parts of the city. How could it work?

It's been talked about for quite some time, but now that legislation has passed to set it up, work is well underway for Auckland to have New Zealand's first congestion charging scheme.

Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown has said he'd like to see congestion charging to come into Auckland's CBD at peak hours "ASAP".

But there's still a lot to do before that happens. Here's what you need to know.

What are congestion charges?

It means that at certain times and places, you will get charged for driving a vehicle into the city. There's many different ways this can work - more on that in a minute.

These charges are not a new concept in many parts of the world - London, Singapore and New York City have introduced forms of it - but it hasn't been seen in New Zealand before.

Last year, Parliament passed the Land Transport Management (Time of Use Charging) Amendment Bill, which allows the introduction of congestion charging here, permitting local authorities to set up schemes by working with NZTA. It's set to come into effect in November.

Time of use charging is basically another way of saying congestion charging, but with a focus on cutting traffic during peak hours and looking at the whole traffic network more than specific roads.

Auckland will be the first place to introduce it, while other cities like Wellington and Tauranga might be next. But it won't happen overnight.

The goal is to reduce congestion in the central city.

Photo: RNZ / Lucy Xia

So when is Auckland likely to start these charges?

It's still a few years off, Hamish Bunn, strategic transport lead at Auckland Council, told RNZ.

"We are currently working towards a final council decision on a potential scheme in early 2028, followed by ministerial approval shortly after. The scheme may take several more years after this to enter into operation."

When the legislation allowing the framework for congestion charging kicks in this November, Auckland council will propose an area for the scheme, which would trigger the formation of a 'Scheme Board' between NZ Transport Agency and the council, with an independent chairperson, Bunn said.

The Minister of Transport then has to sign off on the scheme.

The Ministry of Transport is currently having a consultation period on regulations around congestion charges - allowing different charges for different vehicle types, and what the enforcement and penalties will be for those who don't pay the fee. The consultation runs until 26 June.

Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown.

Photo: RNZ/Marika Khabazi

Timothy Welch, a senior lecturer in architecture and planning at the University of Auckland, said there will still be a tremendous amount of work to be done before any plan can launch.

"The biggest problem is that we really haven't prepared ourselves for a congestion charge."

Mayor Brown told the New Zealand Herald in a recent interview he'd like to see it "ASAP".

"I can say without any doubt that if we try to do this in a year, we've probably bungled it," Welch said. "It's not going to have a good effect because we have not invested in the alternatives."

Drivers would pay a fee to enter congestion pricing zones.

Photo: RNZ / Lucy Xia

Why do we need it, anyway?

Congestion costs money - not just the petrol you put in your tank, but the environmental consequences, the lost hours to commuters sitting in traffic, the delays for freight transport, and much more.

"Congestion in Auckland is a real problem with real life consequences," Bunn said.

A paper prepared for Auckland Council in January 2025 said that congestion is now costing an estimated $2.6 billion a year.

It said modelling reports indicate Aucklanders spend 29 million hours a year sitting in traffic, or an average of 17 hours per person per year.

"A Time of Use Charge will enable people to think of other ways to travel, like public transport, carpooling or driving outside rush hour," Brown has told RNZ.

"The time you spend sitting in traffic is time that you are not working, learning, exercising, spending time with friends or family, and relaxing," the report said.

In a survey of 2300 Auckland members, the Automobile Association (AA) found that 45 percent called congestion during peak periods "a major problem".

Welch said in the big picture, congestion's impact may be even higher.

The $2.6 billion is "a very low number", he said, and doesn't include things like the 'planning time index' - the amount of time added to your journey planning for traffic ahead, vehicle operating costs, increased emissions and increased rate of crashes and other factors.

"If we add all of that, that number is significantly higher, and all of those things can be reduced with a congestion charge."

So, how would time of use charging work?

That's what Auckland Council will debate in the near future. They've been planning ahead by spending the last few years studying how it could work.

"Throughout 2024 and 2025, Auckland Council and Auckland Transport undertook an initial phase of technical work," Bunn said, which enabled the narrowing down of potential scheme options.

Read more: Auckland Council's Time Of Use Charging study (July 2025)

There are many different forms congestion charging can take. The six options that the 2025 report presented to council include cordons, core motorways or targeting hot spots. Those options will be narrowed to about three in coming months, and public feedback will be sought on them, Bunn said.

"Once the council has considered public feedback, decision making on a preferred option would occur followed by submission to the legislative process through a 'Scheme Initiation' document."

Six congestion charging area options were put forward for further study in the 2025 council report.

Photo: Supplied / Auckland Council

"There are a number of global cities that have done congestion charging and really, the only ones that are successful have done what you call cordon pricing," Welch said.

"Rat-running" - the practice of drivers zipping around quiet side streets to avoid traffic or restrictions - is an unwanted result congestion pricing needs to avoid, he said.

"If we just look at a few roads or highways here or there, what that really does is just push people onto side roads and they're going to drive anyway.

"We likely will not just make congestion work, but we'll make it worse in the places that aren't really designed to handle lots of traffic.

"Overall, any scheme needs to improve road network performance by reducing congestion, increase the movement of people and goods, and improve road network reliability," Bunn said.

"This includes cordon charge options, like in Stockholm, which charges drivers who cross a specific boundary. Charges on certain congested motorway locations are also being considered."

Auckland attorney Katrina Van Houtte, major projects and construction partner at law firm Dentons, recently visited Stockholm with a delegation from Infrastructure New Zealand to see how Swedish congestion pricing works.

"Stockholm ran a seven-month trial before making the scheme permanent, and it proved decisive," she wrote recently. "People experienced the benefits firsthand through shorter commutes and cleaner air. Public support followed."

The upcoming $5.5 billion City Rail Link launch - New Zealand's largest infrastructure project - will also help improve public transport, Bunn said.

"Initial testing shows that the rail network will have the capacity to absorb new public transport trips as a result of the scheme.

"More buses are likely to be needed and can be planned for - with service increases funded by scheme revenue."

Welch said while the CRL is "definitely good," it won't solve all Auckland's public transport woes.

"Certainly we are not at the point where you could just walk outside and catch a bus or you can catch the train without even thinking about it."

How much will it cost me?

There's been no official word about that, although Brown in the past has spoken of charges between $5 per trip.

Costs around the world tend to vary widely - see below.

"We will be looking at potential caps on total costs for people who make frequent trips into a scheme area," Bunn said.

How are they going to collect the money?

It's likely it will be primarily collected online in some manner similar to how road tolls are.

"The technology is likely to be camera-based automatic number plate recognition as this offers the best combination of cost, simplicity for customers and ease of implementation," Bunn said.

What happens if I don't pay?

Not paying a charge will be an offence, according to the legislation. In the consultation the Ministry of Transport is currently running, they're suggesting a fee of $70 for each unpaid trip.

"A $70 infringement fee is high enough to eliminate any financial incentive to evade the charge," the consultation document notes. "For most drivers, $70 is many times higher than the time of use charge itself, so there is less financial incentive to avoid payment."

What will the money go for?

According to the legislation, the revenue collected needs to cover the "reasonable" costs of the scheme, and then should be used "to invest in land transport activities ... in the scheme region in a way that contributes to an effective, efficient, and safe land transport system in the public interest."

London still has some of the worst congestion of the world despite introducing congestion pricing.

Photo: ARTUR WIDAK / AFP

What are charges like in other parts of the world?

London has a circular "zone" where congestion charges are applied, and you pay a flat fee for driving into the zone on weekdays 7am-6pm and 12pm-8pm on weekends or bank holidays. In London, the current charge is £18 (NZ$41) if paid on the day or £21 if paid within three days.

"Our options do not include an 'area' scheme like London where travel within an area is charged," Bunn said.

It hasn't been a cure-all for London's traffic issues, though - the BBC reported last year the city's roads are still the most congested in Europe.

In Stockholm, drivers are charged fees that vary by the time of the day and time of year up to a maximum of 135 krona per day (about NZ$24.50).

Van Houtte said that the results were immediate in Sweden, with traffic dropping nearly 20 percent from the first day.

"The scheme did not just nudge behaviour at the margins. It transformed the city's roads."

In New York City, congestion pricing in Manhattan began last year with passenger cars paying US$9 in peak periods. Traffic quickly fell, Welch said. A New York Times analysis found 27 million fewer vehicles had entered the city.

Welch said New York is "only a bit over a year in, and the numbers, we're looking at over 11 percent reduction in traffic, almost 30 million vehicles less into the city and almost 25 percent reduction in emissions. And that's one year in."

"They definitely show that this can be successful if done right."

The City Rail Link will help with traffic congestion, analysts say.

Photo: RNZ / Yiting Lin

Okay, but are people going to accept paying to drive into parts of Auckland?

"Aucklanders will need assurance that Time of Use Charging is an effective solution," Bunn said.

The council will have to show that the plan provides tangible improvements in travel time and reliability, is simple to understand and has good public transport options in place, he said.

The AA's survey of members on congestion pricing showed some openness to it, but also concerns.

Forty-three percent of those surveyed said they'd support it if it "substantially" improved travel times, but 33 percent said they'd still oppose it. At the same time only 19 percent agreed that charging was "the only realistic option to manage Auckland's congestion".

Eighty-nine percent said it was very or moderately important to them that the money collected would be used for improving Auckland's transport network.

Public input is important to the council as it designs a plan, Bunn said, and there will be "a period of substantial engagement with Aucklanders ahead of any system being introduced".

Welch said New York and London "invested very heavily in their public transport networks and cycling and walking years before they introduced the congestion charges".

"They gave people a meaningful, reliable, fast and affordable alternative to driving before they ever put something in place. If you don't do that, then really we're just kind of penalising people for coming into the city without giving them an option to get out of their cars."

Van Houtte has called for a trial period like Sweden had to introduce the idea before making the charges permanent.

"A trial is a win-win," she said. "It's an opportunity to move 'ASAP', identify if there are any real-world unintended consequences with the traffic flows and make necessary adjustments, rather than rushing into a permanent solution for political reasons."

However, Bunn said while the council considered trial period options, "these are difficult to do within the legislation so are unlikely".

Welch said ideally, a congestion charge eventually will cut drivers' costs.

"Even if you're paying that fee, the amount of time and fuel and eventually maintenance that you save on your vehicle because there's significantly less traffic pays for itself. So it's good for drivers.

"It really benefits everybody, even though there's a bit of an extra price to pay. Those numbers balance out on the balance sheet over time."

The impact of paying a congestion charge is likely to hit lower-income households the hardest, and Bunn said how to deal with that is under consideration.

"The first response is to design schemes that try and avoid charging lower income areas," he said. "Providing relief is difficult under the legislation, but we will look at options to mitigate any significant unavoidable impacts on low-income households.

"Nobody likes paying for something they previously didn't have to pay for and will look for ways to avoid it," Van Houtte said, whether that's by changing travel times or going less frequently into the area covered.

"To accept the charge, people will need to see value through reduced time in queues and more certainty over journey times. The experience in Sweden was that it was easier for people to accept an increase in the charge once it was already in place, than it was to introduce it in the first place."

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