Northern Gateway - motorbikes to pay $2 like a car

[Wannabiker]

Rather than blocking the tunnels, which could be seen as a nuisance obstruction, a better idea would be to turn up at that BP servo where the toll machines are and form a large que to pay for tolls...it is a nightmare at the best of times....imagine a group of 100 bikers queing up to pay tolls......and pay by eftpos just to make the process longer. It could be a game to see how far you can make the other cagers que out the door.....

[Squiggles]

Rather than blocking the tunnels, which could be seen as a nuisance obstruction, a better idea would be to turn up at that BP servo where the toll machines are and form a large que to pay for tolls...it is a nightmare at the best of times....imagine a group of 100 bikers queing up to pay tolls......and pay by eftpos just to make the process longer. It could be a game to see how far you can make the other cagers que out the door.....

You could always pay by phone... costs more than the $2 iirc

[chasio]

You could always pay by phone... costs more than the $2 iirc

That is a most excellent suggestion. Then the precedent set will be "make bikes pay tolls, cost yourself money".

I'm sure it is deliberate to introduce it as the ACC levies are also being hiked but hey, that's good political tactics on their part. I don't like the tactics and loathe the AA for backing the toll, but fattening up and selling off the ACC is a much bigger issue in my view. So I intend to focus on that.

But I will be sure to pay by phone if I ever use the damned thing.

[Mom]

Rather than blocking the tunnels, which could be seen as a nuisance obstruction, a better idea would be to turn up at that BP servo where the toll machines are and form a large que to pay for tolls...it is a nightmare at the best of times....imagine a group of 100 bikers queing up to pay tolls......and pay by eftpos just to make the process longer. It could be a game to see how far you can make the other cagers que out the door.....

Be more fun to pay with cash as the machines in there are constantly not working

I like the pay by phone option, costs more to administer than they collect

[MarkH]

I prefer the boycott option - I don't know if anyone would care if less than 5,000 bikes a year used the toll road, but that is what I would like to see. They say we benefit and should therefore pay, we should show that we don't benefit as much as cars and are therefore not willing to pay as much as cars pay.

[Wannabiker]

I have only been through there once....and I cant think why you would want to take a bike along there if there is an alternate route that is scenic and twisty. By the time we had qued to pay the tolls (at the machine that wasnt working), we could have most likely gone the longer route in a shorter time.

[bluebird]

I will just cover my plate, or take the old road.

[Mom]

The old way is actually a nicer trip, the only problem is the 80k speed limit. It used to be a great hunting ground for plod too These days hopefully they are hitting the toll road, for better hunting prospects.

[Madness]

This sounds like another perfectly good reason to avoid Hazzard County to me.

[Maha]

Bikers shouldn't complain, 51,000 trips made to the end of Dec last year. 51,000!! Over 25,000 bikes chose to use the Toll rd last year.
Its a Toll rd. Thats the essence of a Toll Road aint it?User pays? All those that use the Toll road should pay. Motorbikes have had a run of it for a 18 months, now its time to pay, or, heres a thought, use another road.
Are bikes excluded from paying on the Tauranga Toll Road?

[Toaster]

The old way is actually a nicer trip, the only problem is the 80k speed limit. It used to be a great hunting ground for plod too These days hopefully they are hitting the toll road, for better hunting prospects.

I think both still smell of bacon..... mmm bacon.

[Chooky]

Are bikes excluded from paying on the Tauranga Toll Road?[/QUOTE]

Ha, a mate and I pulled up at the Tauranga toll booth, the unmanned one, and while we were trying to figure out what the fuck to do, a big Kenworth pulled up behind us....
The barrier arm went up, so we just fucked off real quick before the KW run over us..
Still dont know if we were supposed to pay or not...?

[MarkH]

Its a Toll rd. Thats the essence of a Toll Road aint it?User pays? All those that use the Toll road should pay

Yep - trucks pay $4, cars/vans pay $2 and bikes should pay $1.

But for some reason they have decided it was fair for bikes to pay as much as cars - personally I don't think that is true. The other problem is that it isn't worth charging $1 - it would cost more than $1 to collect it. But if they could work out a way to keep what you owe on record and ask that you pay once your bill got up to $10 then I would be happy to pay $1 per use of the road (if I chose to use the road at all). $2 is too much for a bike.

[CalNZ]

Yep - trucks pay $4, cars/vans pay $2 and bikes should pay $1.

But for some reason they have decided it was fair for bikes to pay as much as cars - personally I don't think that is true. The other problem is that it isn't worth charging $1 - it would cost more than $1 to collect it. But if they could work out a way to keep what you owe on record and ask that you pay once your bill got up to $10 then I would be happy to pay $1 per use of the road (if I chose to use the road at all). $2 is too much for a bike.

I do not object to paying but the letter received really smacked of what we knew all along - they had decided to implement the charge and the consultation process was simply done because they were told they had to - is was a foregone conclusion... so thanks for wasting our time asking for submissions! Apparently bikes pay the same price because the fee is used only to recover the cost to build the tunnel not for ongoing maintenance and will be removed when the loan is repaid (yeah, right...) and because bikes recevie the same benefits as cars when using the tunnel... And, if trailers are free [on cars] can bikers (legally) take two kayaks on top, a load behind and three to four passengers to divided the cost amongst... not EXACTLY the same benefit is it? ANd if the only benefit is the reduction in time (same for all vehicles) why are trucks penalised?

[Swoop]

the fee is used only to recover the cost to build the tunnel not for ongoing maintenance and will be removed when the loan is repaid...

There is a statement on their website that the fees will be in place for 35 years and will be used as the source to establish further toll roads in the future.