Northern Gateway - motorbikes to pay $2 like a car

**MarkH** · 26th April 2010, 16:33

Originally Posted by Maha

So have they set a date to charge bikes?

Not that I am aware of - the letter I got said they will be charging from mid-2010 so at some point in a couple of months or so they will be charging, but no exact date has been given yet.

My guess is 1-July onwards - but I just pulled that out of my arse, so take it with a grain of salt.

**nosebleed** · 26th April 2010, 16:34

Originally Posted by 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?

To what end?

Fighting for our "right" to free use of a toll road. I'd hazard a guess that the number of bikers that use it now is quite small, and that most bikes that head north are using the free road option(s).

Fighting this would alienate further an already anti-bike population right at a time where we are trying to garner their support on the ACC issue.

A better form of protest (if you feel passionately about it) is to boycott the road and refuse the services of those who support the charge. Eg. AA.

**Maha** · 26th April 2010, 16:51

Originally Posted by MarkH

Not that I am aware of - the letter I got said they will be charging from mid-2010 so at some point in a couple of months or so they will be charging, but no exact date has been given yet.

My guess is 1-July onwards - but I just pulled that out of my arse, so take it with a grain of salt.

Your arse with a grain of salt?.....

Originally Posted by nosebleed

To what end?

Fighting for our "right" to free use of a toll road. I'd hazard a guess that the number of bikers that use it now is quite small, and that most bikes that head north are using the free road option(s).

Fighting this would alienate further an already anti-bike population right at a time where we are trying to garner their support on the ACC issue.

A better form of protest (if you feel passionately about it) is to boycott the road and refuse the services of those who support the charge. Eg. AA.

Yes indeed, on all three sentences.

**MarkH** · 26th April 2010, 16:58

Originally Posted by Maha

Your arse with a grain of salt?.....

If that's the way you read it then that says more about you than it does about me.

**chasio** · 26th April 2010, 19:15

Originally Posted by nosebleed

To what end?

Fighting for our "right" to free use of a toll road. I'd hazard a guess that the number of bikers that use it now is quite small, and that most bikes that head north are using the free road option(s).

Fighting this would alienate further an already anti-bike population right at a time where we are trying to garner their support on the ACC issue.

A better form of protest (if you feel passionately about it) is to boycott the road and refuse the services of those who support the charge. Eg. AA.

I reckon you're bang on the money (as it were) there. Let's concentrate our firepower on the front we care the most about and ride around the bloody thing.

And before anyone looks at my sig and calls me out, this is certainly not apathy on my part!

**MarkH** · 26th April 2010, 19:43

Personally, I find it annoying that they just went ahead and declared that bikes should pay just as much as cars - almost every car travelling on that road weighs well over 4 x as much as almost every bike and has twice as many wheels - bikes certainly should get a cheaper price.

However I generally would just take the more fun route - unless I was in a desperate hurry. If I am going to put an effort into protesting anything it would definitely be better to protest the ACC levy. I would only head north a handful of times per year and mostly use the twistier roads - I can't see myself spending $10 in one year on the Northern Gateway Tolls.

So I guess I'll just take note that the road will soon be $2 even on a bike and factor that into my choice of route. I really can't waste time protesting EVERYTHING that I disagree with. I'll try to make the ACC protest ride on Saturday though.

**peasea** · 26th April 2010, 20:34

Originally Posted by MarkH

However I generally would just take the more fun route .

That's right; you have a choice (although I'd say grumbling about two bucks is pretty sad unless you use the road on a daily basis) and with the opening of the motorway the traffic on the coast road has dropped significantly, has it not? A trip to the Puhoi should always include some twisties.

**Mom** · 26th April 2010, 20:53

Originally Posted by MarkH

If that's the way you read it then that says more about you than it does about me.

He rides a Honda, what more can be said

**Squiggles** · 27th April 2010, 09:19

Originally Posted by nosebleed

I'd hazard a guess that the number of bikers that use it now is quite small

From Jan-June 2009 it was 25,000 bikes vs 1,769,000 cars
http://www.tollroad.govt.nz/Content/...eport-2009.pdf
(Funny thing is they forecast that there'd be 36,000 unidentifiable vehicles and expected only 24,000 of us)

The consultation probably ate up the next two years tolls for bikes...

**Waxxa** · 27th April 2010, 10:15

Originally Posted by Squiggles

From Jan-June 2009 it was 25,000 bikes vs 1,769,000 cars
http://www.tollroad.govt.nz/Content/...eport-2009.pdf
(Funny thing is they forecast that there'd be 36,000 unidentifiable vehicles and expected only 24,000 of us)

The consultation probably ate up the next two years tolls for bikes...

On those figures, 50 000 bikes a year versus 3.4 million cars, why bother charging bikes at all. What's the figure to collect the toll? something like $1.60 approx? so .40 cents goes to paying off the road itself, $20 000 revenue off 50 000 bikes, pathetic!

**Ixion** · 27th April 2010, 10:35

It set the precedent though. So if new toll roads are establsihed (which may not so easily or pleasantly be pypassed) bikes will be expected to pay the same as cars.

**bogan** · 27th April 2010, 11:21

are there any other toll roads planning on charging bikers? if this one is a test case perhaps make it fail as horribly as possible. haha, just noticed the tag, make that happen!

**MarkH** · 27th April 2010, 12:51

Originally Posted by Waxxa

What's the figure to collect the toll? something like $1.60 approx? so .40 cents goes to paying off the road itself

That's actually the part I have the most problem with, that there is a toll at all!

They say the toll is to pay for the road, but a fair amount of the toll is collected to cover the cost of collecting the toll - that is fuckin' stupid IMO! We already pay road tax every time we buy petrol, why can't road tax pay for roads? Why build a new road and then have a bunch of motorists decide to use the old road because they don't want to pay a toll, this seems silly!

**Devil** · 27th April 2010, 12:53

Originally Posted by Ixion

It set the precedent though. So if new toll roads are establsihed (which may not so easily or pleasantly be pypassed) bikes will be expected to pay the same as cars.

This is my problem with it - the precedent.

**Max Preload** · 27th April 2010, 13:27

Originally Posted by 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?

Of course we are! We're going to grizzle and moan for a bit then accept it! It's the Kiwi way!