Northern Gateway - motorbikes to pay $2 like a car

[Bounce001]

An excellent write up!

Loved your quote:

"Why should motorcyclists pay extra because motorists selfishly insisted on lugging two tonnes of unnecessary steel about with them?"

Brilliant :laugh

[The Pastor]

Bikes dont damage pavements. Cars do minor damage (if any) Trucks do 99% of the damage.

[Ixion]

Verbal submissions made. I was supposed to be on at 11:30 but I got there at 10:45 (I allowed half an hour for finding the place and didn't need it), and they heard me right away.

Very very uninterested. No questions, very much just doing it for appearances. That was a done deal from the start if there ever was one.

Complained about the ad "just like all other motorists". Repeated the points that we are not "just just like all other motorists " ; lighter less damaging less congesting etc. Which they already accept because otherwise they have no justification for charging $4 for trucks. Pointed out that bikers would almost always pay by cell phone, so if they charged $1 they would lose $1.70 on each transaction. And made the point that the coast road , for bikes, is pretty much as fast now as the toll road + time to pay the toll. Plus much more fun. And the safety bit

They just weren't interested in the slightest

[outlawtorn]

Man that sucks so much, but thank you Les for going there on our behalf and putting our case forward, let the bastards introduce a fee, it'll just give us more of a reason to go the fun alternate route.

Cheers
John

[phred]

Anything less than the car payment and they might start losing money on having us pay

They lose money at the car rate. Biggest fuck up ever built.

[MarkH]

Very very uninterested. No questions, very much just doing it for appearances. That was a done deal from the start if there ever was one.

I don't think they cared about my written submission either. I got the letter today thanking me for it and saying that they will charge $2 from mid-2010.

To paraphrase the letter:
Thank you & fuck you!

They lose money at the car rate. Biggest fuck up ever built.

If they still lose money on the car rate then they also will lose money on the bike rate. Or at best people pay $2 and a small amount of that will go to pay for the road.

[MaxB]

If I won Lotto I would buy a truck and charge bikes a dollar to let them load their bikes on and drive past the cameras just so the robbing bastards would get not a cent of bikers money.

Hell if I won enough I'd do it for free.

[cheesemethod]

Their cameras are gonna have a pretty hard time reading your plate if the bike is at 12 o clock when you go through the arch. Just a suggestion

[Swoop]

Their cameras are gonna have a pretty hard time reading your plate if the bike is at 12 o clock when you go through the arch. Just a suggestion

Just hook your boot around and cover the plate (if fitted...). Done.

[Maha]

I don't think they cared about my written submission either. I got the letter today thanking me for it and saying that they will charge $2 from mid-2010.

To paraphrase the letter:
Thank you & fuck you!

Interesting, I got a call earlier from Radio New Zealand asking me about my thoughts on the Toll Road.
I was busy at the time and didn't quite get what she was on about?
Told her ring Les Mason (answer your phone Les!)
So have they set a date to charge bikes?

The about 1/2 hour after that, a lady rang me about a meeting tomorrow, where they will pay me $60 for my time (one hour) if I attend, I have work so can attend. Its at Midday here in Warkworth at the Motel by the lights on SH1. The meeting is about the Toll road.
They will pay you $60 for one hour!

[Squiggles]

They will pay ypu $60 for one hour!

Sounds good to me...

[Maha]

Sounds good to me...

I have to text her later and let her know if I can make or not. If I have no work for tomorrow I will go and see what the story is.
And collect the $60....

[Ixion]

I talked to about 4 or 5 media orgs today about it. They all want to know if we are "going to do anything". One even suggested blocking the tunnels .

So, are we?

[Mom]

I talked to about 4 or 5 media orgs today about it. They all want to know if we are "going to do anything". One even suggested blocking the tunnels .

So, are we?

Well I for one am up to my eyeballs protesting ACC levies. There is an alternative route if you really dont want to pay the man.

[Bodir]

Seriously?????? What do you gain by taking it? Less fun, but also less time. The government will realize that we are not going through that section and that people will complain about those bikers on the free road. It'll regulate itself faster without us doing something radical.