Road user charges for all vehicles move a step closer
Photo:
RNZ / Mark Papalii
The government is inching closer to replacing petrol tax with electronic
road user charges
(RUC) on all light vehicles, in what the transport minister is calling the biggest shake-up of road funding in half a century.
Cabinet has agreed to pass law changes next year to modernise the existing RUC system, but no date has yet been set for the full switchover.
Drivers will be allowed to make use of a wider range of electronic RUC devices and rely on a digital record of their payments.
Speaking at a conference in Wellington on Wednesday, Transport Minister Chris Bishop said the process would be simple - like paying a power bill or Netflix subscription online.
He said the system
should be open for business by 2027
.
More to come...
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