Attitudes to alternative transport funding Graeme Colman Principal, Horizon Research Limited NZCID 25 July 2012

Methodology Sample size: 1,061 respondents aged 18+ living within Auckland Council boundaries. Respondents are members of Horizon Research’s HorizonPoll panel, which represents the New Zealand adult population. Weighting: Post-sample iterative rim weighting was used to match Auckland Council population averages for age, gender, personal income, and employment and education level. Margin of error: The maximum margin of error at a 95% confidence level is ±3.1% overall. Dates: Interviewing was undertaken between May 15-31, 2012.

The survey examined How Aucklanders travel Their use of the motorway system and its impacts on them and the organisations they work for Feelings about tolling in general, and Reactions to various options for funding the “four big projects” prioritised by the Auckland Council: the City Rail Link, an additional Waitemata Harbour crossing, the Auckland-Manukau Eastern transport Initiative (AMETI) and the East-West link between SH1 and SH20.

Findings on funding Funding options were surveyed in four in ways 1.Tolling Auckland’s motorway network in principle 2.The six funding options put forward by Auckland Council for its big four projects 3.Toll prices – the price points at which tolls switch from being “value” to being “expensive” 4.Toll price packages – variable charges depending on travel time

What Aucklanders are driving Over 70% have either 1 or 2 passenger vehicles (cars and light vans) in household Only 6% have no vehicles Average was nearly 2 vehicles

Why Aucklanders are driving Employment 68%. Shopping 65%. 2.5 reasons to travel per week. 19% travel for employment only, not for other reasons.

Where Aucklanders are driving Average number of trips builds during the working week to a peak of 2.3 on average on Fridays. Motorway mainly used: Southern 35% Northern 26% North Western 25% South Western 15%

Where Aucklanders are driving Auckland motorway use is 30% lower on weekends in comparison with weekdays 11% do not use the Auckland motorway system Monday to Friday. Of these, 68% do not use the motorway system in the weekends either. Over 55% of respondents reported travelling between 5km and 20km for their most frequent daily or weekly trip. Users of the South-Eastern Highway are more likely than users of other routes to be travelling more than 20km

What Auckland drivers are feeling Impact of congestion – personal: 57.3% believe traffic congestion is getting worse and 70.9% believe it will get worse in the future. Only 24.2% say they are not affected personally by congestion

Adverse impacts of congestion Increases fuel costs (70.9%) Increases commuting times (67.6%) Reduces time for other activities (61%) Causes stress (60.8%) Stops respondents and members of their households from travelling at certain times (50.4%).

Adverse impacts of congestion Stress and anger 20 in every 100 Auckland drivers is A victim of road rage Has become enraged 1 in 20 report congestion is harming their work performance 8 in every 100 say congesting is making them angry all the time

Adverse impacts of congestion Costs to organisations 30.1% say congestion is impacting badly to very badly on the organisations they work for, with another 45.7% reporting slight impact.

Business as usual? – 2.8% say yes Just over half of respondents rated the Auckland transport system positively, with 25% rating it negatively. However, overall, only 2.8% of respondents say authorities should “continue businesses-as- usual, things are operating well”. Nearly all respondents think that there need to be improvements to Auckland’s transport system. better public transport pricing (70%) building of more public transport (56%) Building more road capacity is preferred by nearly 40% of respondents overall. 55% of frequent users of the motorway system believe that more capacity is required

Positive experiences of tolls Positive experience of tolls Only 15.7% of respondents had never paid a road toll, either in New Zealand or overseas. 70% had paid a toll in New Zealand at some time, 40% had paid one in Australia and 19% in Europe. 67.9% felt the toll they had paid was value for money.

1. Tolling in principle Respondents were advised that a range of options for tolling the motorways was being considered. They were told higher tolls in busy periods would incentivise commuters to drive at different times, use different routes, car pool, take public transport or walk or cycle. This would reduce traffic on the motorways meaning faster journeys for users of the tolled network. Tolls would also raise revenue for investment in new transport solutions including roads and public transport services.

Tolling in principle: 63.8% Yes In principle, do you think Auckland should have tolls on its motorways, varying in price and times at which they are charged, if this reduces congestion and helps fund major transport projects?

Toll support by household income Majority support for tolls in principle, if that would help to reduce congestion and fund major transport projects, is not affected by household income. There is majority support across all household income bands Lower and middle incomes: Support remains at 55% (compared with 64% overall) among households with incomes of $30,000 to $50,000, and 60% among households earning less than $20,000 a year 74.5% among middle income households earning $50,000 - $70,000 a year

Main party support Tolling in principle was supported by 47% of those who use the motorway system twice a day or more. Party voter support: Voters for all main parties at the 2011 General Election support tolling in principle. This includes 66.8% of National voters, 56.3% Labour, 60.9% Green, 65.1% NZ First and 88.6% of ACT voters.

2. Council’s six funding options – one is more favoured AWARENESS: 55.5% of respondents were aware that the Council had been investigating new ways to fund transport 44.5% were not. Respondents were given a list of possible options and asked to indicate their support for each. These included increasing rates, fuel taxes, cark park charges, an airport tax on international travellers, a charge on all traffic entering the CBD, and an average $2 toll on the motorway network. All options were set at a price to raise an equivalent amount for investment in transport.

Six funding options – tolls has more support than opposition Up to a $2 "average" toll on the motorway network This was the only suggested option where support, while still in the minority, was greater than opposition. 46% support 33.4% oppose 18% neutral. The highest level of support, 50%, came from Northern motorway users and the lowest, 27%, from South-Eastern Highway users. While not majority support, this option should be seen as the most palatable of those presented in this study. Average $2 toll stands out as more favourable

3. Pricing perceptions Respondents were asked their view on charges being considered for tolling options at various times of the day. For each of ten different prices, they were asked how expensive or inexpensive they thought the price was if tolling the motorway network could achieve traffic flows equivalent to those during school holidays.

“Fair value” cross-over price points From the responses, the cross over point where “fair value” transitions to “expensive” overall was calculated at: $0.76 in Off-Peak for travel between 7pm and 7am $1.25 in Inter-Peak for travel between 9am and 4pm $1.70 in Peak traffic 7am to 9am and 4pm to 6pm (Price tolerance varies according to frequency of motorway use: Less frequent cross over point $2.70 at peak, 2 x per day users $1.50)

Potential demand management cross over point Potential demand management price range Fair Value to Expensive transition range

Capping tolls Respondents were told that one option was to cap the total amount charged per vehicle per day. They were asked to choose the most that they would be prepared to pay each day per vehicle to fund major projects and reduce congestion One third were not prepared to pay anything 12% said that paying for cars and vans did not apply to them Among those who were prepared to pay and to whom it applied, the average maximum was $4.75 per day for cars and vans and $5.80 for heavy commercial vehicles. These levels apply regardless of the frequency with which respondents use the motorway system.

Capping tolls

4. Time of use charges Respondents were also surveyed on whether or not they supported or opposed each of four different travel-time related toll charge options. The most supported of these among respondents overall was $2 in peak periods (7am – 9am) and $1.50 between 4pm and 6pm 50.4% support 25.1% opposed 18% neutral 7.9% were not sure. 50.4% support 25.1% opposed 18% neutral 7.9% were not sure.

Delivering value Respondents were asked how much they would be prepared to pay to save time on a 30 minute commute. Time savings have to be 5 minutes or greater and probably 10 minutes or greater before people would be prepared to pay for a time saving benefit. Nearly 60% of respondents would not be prepared to pay anything if the time saved was 0 to 5 minutes. The average amount that respondents would be prepared to pay did not exceed $1.80

Price impacts on behaviour

Summary Aucklanders are greatly concerned over the impacts on them and their organisations caused by traffic congestion. It is adversely affecting 76 in every 100 drivers 70 in every 100 believe traffic congestion in future will worsen, and 2.8% of respondents only say authorities should “continue businesses-as- usual, things are operating well”.

Summary Tolling the motorway network is the only funding option surveyed with majority support (both in principle and for time-of use charging packages) Pricing research indicates a toll at or near $2 during peak week day travel periods has support Auckland drivers want any toll system kept simple – and to deliver 5 to 10 minute+ commuting time benefits to provide value for money

Thank you Graeme Colman Principal Horizon Research Limited Telephone: