Freight must be treated as a priority, no longer a planning afterthought, as part of the Government’s and Auckland Council’s restructuring of AT announced today says National Road Carriers Association (NRC).

“Despite costing $1.5 billion a year to run, AT has very limited expertise in freight,“ said NRC CEO Justin Tighe-Umbers. “Right now, freight is an afterthought for Auckland’s transport planners.

National Road Carriers Association (NRC) is calling for detailed traffic modelling to support AT’s proposed replacement of railway level crossing in Takanini with road bridges announced today.

“The City Rail Link is going to be a game changer for Auckland and getting these level crossings replaced is critical to keep freight moving,” said NRC CEO Justin Tighe-Umbers.

Transport Minister Chris Bishop recently announced Cabinet has agreed to a series of 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.

“The abolition of petrol tax, and the move towards all vehicles (whether they be petrol, diesel, electric or hybrid) paying for roads based on distance and weight, is the biggest change to how we fund our roading network in 50 years,” Bishop says.

Auckland Council-owned Port of Auckland has surprised the freight industry by announcing today that port access charges for road transport operators in 2026 will be increased by 77%. The Port’s previously announced 35% increase for 2026 charges has already been baked in by port customers and transport operators, so a doubling in that planned increase has been a bitter pill to swallow.