Northern Gateway - motorbikes to pay $2 like a car

[Mom]

I have been thinking about this. Apparently we gain the same benefits as cars do when we use this little bit of road, so we pay the same as cars. This makes us equal to cars? If one government department have decreed we are the same as cars then that decision should be extended to ACC levies too Same levy for bikes as for cars

As has been pointed out above, you would have to be a mug to take the toll road on a bike if you have to pay, the other route is not that much further and more interesting anyway, albeit at 80kph (watch for plod) but if you do ride the road, then I encourage you to pay by phone, costs the maximum to collect that way.

[Swoop]

it takes 2 minutes, plus wait time of 4 minutes, and dismount and parking and walk to machine time of 1.5 minutes to manually pay for the toll.
It takes 4 minutes and 22 seconds to pay toll over the phone,
It takes 7 minutes to pay at BP, if machine is functioning correctly,
And lastly on the internet, it takes 2 minutes 40 seconds if you have broadband, on dialup........ wel 6 minutes and wait wait wait..... screw that lol.

It only takes a second to put a boot across the plate though...

[wynw]

I have been thinking about this. Apparently we gain the same benefits as cars do when we use this little bit of road, so we pay the same as cars. This makes us equal to cars? If one government department have decreed we are the same as cars then that decision should be extended to ACC levies too Same levy for bikes as for cars

don't talk too loud Mom or they will want to put car rego up again too...but yeah fully agree with you.

[RiderInBlack]

Fuck them, I'm not pay that toll as long as they continue putting WRB it. Will cover my bike reg for the length of the extention or take SH16. They don't care about Bike Riders so why should I care for them.

[BigB]

Watch out for them.....I got a Toll payment notice today....even though they officially don't start charging till June. Apparently my bike was miss identified as a car (I know it's a big Honda, but a car!) Rung them and it's going to be wiped (till I get the next notice) Having worked on the project for 4 years and given them a bloodly good result this is how NZTA repay us.

[Laava]

If you had a t shirt on [big one] over your bike gear and it had loads of plate font numbers on it, would the machine be fooled into confusion or is the plate reading software really fuckin good?

[Swoop]

...or is the plate reading software really fuckin good?

Going by normal standards of doing anything in NZ, the cheapest option will have won out in the building process. Hopefully the same happened with the cameras & software.

[Laava]

So some clever shirt designs maybe the go then? A whole lot of random 5 character groups[have to check they are not legitimate plate no's!] spaced out on your back?

[Rogue Rider]

It's poohs I tell you. Got another response from a nob called wayne carrol email... Wayne.Carroll@nzta.govt.nz. They all feed the same line of B.S.... The point that we all get the same bennifit and privelage of saving the whopping 3 minutes from the huge distance saving of 3.4km.
I bet, we all feel so honoured that we are considered equal to cars, especially with the coupled cop outs with acc, registration and the descrimination by the popo...... (owh a bike, lets pull it over, must be something we can ping em for.....) Owh bikes have lots of accidents.... lets ping em heaps.... doesn't matter that 2/3's of bike accidents are caused by cars, and the majorrity of the rest is really made up by motorcross riders- who pay nothing, and farmers who ride quads........ Yes some of us make errors, but not to justify the ballance.
Bikers are unfairly targeted, and now with the toll on the motorway its the last straw of stupidity. Cubical filled seat warming bureaucratic nob bobbers, (I made that up) should be forced to ride bikes instead of there collegues. grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr I just want to line em all up and wheelie over them until they are a part of the road themselves.

[disenfranchised]

Yep got my letter today...I never use the stupid toll road. So how much did the dumbarses spend sending out letters to what appears to be all registered bikes in the Auckland Region? They are already behind in their revenue gathering just by doing that.

So they've wasted money sending out letters?
And now they're going to have to update all the signs which right now say that bikes are free.
Plus being a government department, they probably had to pay several people for their time in some kind of consultation group to dream up this genius idea.
Plus whatever other advertising or media releases they've done.

Which as everyone seems to agree will result in no extra revenue, as all bikers will use the old route.

If this was a private company, and not the governemt, someone would probably get fired over this

[Ferkletastic]

fact is a biker does get the same benefit as a car or truck or whatever using the road. They're not charging for wear and tear they're charging to cover the construction costs.

Seriously, bikers have absolutely no reason to claim special treatment in this case, if you use the road pay the toll and stop ya whining.

Man us kiwis are a whinging lot at times.

[Tank]

It's poohs I tell you. Got another response from a nob called wayne carrol email... Wayne.Carroll@nzta.govt.nz. They all feed the same line of B.S....

Meh - I dont really care that much - and I used the 'nice' ride over the hill anyways.

BUT - if you really are that upset - I suggest putting Waynes email address on as many man-boy love websites as you can google. Its bound to pop up at some time.

[swbarnett]

fact is a biker does get the same benefit as a car or truck or whatever using the road. They're not charging for wear and tear they're charging to cover the construction costs.

In this case why does a truck get charged more than a car? I don't object to paying, it's just a bit rich to charge a bike at the car rate when the car rate is lower than the truck rate.

[BoristheBiter]

it might have been covered but where does the camera aim?
is it in the middle so if we ride on the line it can't read the plate?
Just asking this as there are lines and hatches in the middle of the lanes i guess to pick up cars.

[Ferkletastic]

It's pretty standard to charge commercial users a higher rate for most things. But realistically I just don't see how we're entitled to a free ride on this one. Also like has been said already over and over, just take the nicer back way or man up and pay your two dollars.