New congestion charge law triggers political and commercial contest

Congestion charges are meant to reduce traffic jams. (Image: NZME)

Tue, 18 Nov 2025

The passage of legislation enabling congestion charging is set to reignite debate over the concept and a contest among firms vying for contracts likely to total hundreds of millions of dollars over the life of multiple schemes.The Land Transport Management (Time of Use Charging) Amendment Bill, which passed its third reading last week, marks the latest stage of a decades-long political argument over whether New Zealand should follow cities such as London, Stockholm and Singapore in charging drivers to use congested roads.For the first time, it...

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