- Hon Chris Bishop
The tech, finance, telecommunications and retail sectors are being invited to help shape proposed regulations for a modernised road user charges system, Transport Minister Chris Bishop says.
Consultation on the proposed new regulations opened this week after the Transport and Infrastructure Select Committee reported back on the Land Transport (Revenue) Amendment Bill and recommended changes to strengthen it for service providers and road users.
"The Land Transport (Revenue) Amendment Bill includes important legislative changes to enable the transition of New Zealand's 3.5 million light vehicles to paying for our roading network through electronic road user charges, rather than petrol tax," Mr Bishop says.
"Petrol tax has long been a rough proxy for road use, but that link is breaking down as more fuel‑efficient vehicles pay less despite using the roads. With hybrids growing rapidly, the current system is becoming unfair. The Government is shifting to a model where all vehicle users pay based on actual road use and vehicle weight, regardless of fuel type."
The regulations being consulted on will support the Bill by setting out how approved providers can operate, what services they can offer, and how data will be protected in a modern road user charges system.
They include:
- how electronic distance recorders can be used
- who can become an approved RUC provider
- how providers will be monitored
- how personal information will be protected
- other ways people may be able to pay RUC
"We expect the market to offer new payment options, such as subscriptions or post-payment, with simple set-and-forget billing similar to how many people already pay for power or streaming services," Mr Bishop says.
"Getting the regulations right is a key part of building a fairer, simpler and more modern transport funding system that offers more flexibility and better technology.
"We know data privacy is important to New Zealanders. Any technology solutions will be required to comply with the Privacy Act and the Road User Charges Act which contains strong privacy safeguards and strictly limits what information can be accessed.
"We want to hear from innovative people and companies here and overseas to help build a road user charges system that is affordable and easy to use."
Notes to editor:
Consultation is open until 12 June. More information is available here
