New Zealand: National policy would allow electric cars to use bus lanes

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The National Party is returning to a controversial proposal to allow electric vehicles to drive in bus and high occupancy lanes in order to encourage uptake. The scheme, which would be brought in immediately on State Highways, is included in National's plan to get 80,000 EVs on New Zealand roads by 2023 four times the current levels.

National says it will hit this target by exempting EVs from fringe benefit tax until 2025 to encourage fleet uptake, exempting them from road user charges until at least 2023 and by setting a three-year target of having a third of government light vehicle fleets be electric.

In 2016 when National was in government, it passed legislation which set the framework for EVs to use bus lanes but left it up to local governments to adopt it. Then Transport Minister Simon Bridges didn't consult with councils about the plan and ignored officials advice they would likely be uninterested because it would slow down public transport.

Auckland Transport then voted against allowing EVs in bus lanes, in favour of supporting a trial of allowing them in T2 and T3 lanes.

A year long trial later found the scheme didn't encourage people to buy electric cars with owners instead citing environmental concerns, lower running costs and the perception of being an early adopter as being stronger motivators. This time around National would introduce a new licence plate so electric cars could use the lanes and implement the plan immediately on State Highways and work with councils to roll it out in cities.

National leader Judith Collins, making the announcement at a Takapuna electric vehicle dealer, Auckland City Electric Vehicles, Our ambitious and comprehensive plan will encourage the purchase of EVs, create a thriving second-hand EV market, support sustainable transport infrastructure, and lower carbon emissions.

This ambitious plan will make EVs cheaper and easier to own without unfairly taxing Kiwis. Details of the electric vehicles plan include:

• Aim to have a third of the government light vehicle fleet electric by 2023.

• Exempt EVs from fringe benefit tax (a sort of tax that can apply to benefits provided to employees other than their salary or wages, such as motor vehicles available for private use) until 2025, and extend road user charge exemptions until at least 2023.

The estimated cost is $93m over four years, including $55m in lower revenue from exempting EVs from fringe benefit tax, and $38m to electrify the government fleet. Light EVs are currently exempt from road user charges until June 30 2021, with heavy EVs exempt until December 31 2025 - saving owners $600 a year on average.

Collins, who was joined by National's transport spokesperson Chris Bishop and East Coast Bays MP and the party's associate spokesperson for the environment Erica Stanford, said monthly registrations of EVs reached about 500 vehicles a month under National, and hadn't grown in the last three years.

About a third of new EV purchases are for company fleets, and the fringe benefit tax exemption and ability to use bus and high occupancy lanes would incentivise companies to buy more electric vehicles, National said - and be appealing to people who have to frequently travel across the city.

The Labour-led Government received advice about exempting EVs from fringe benefit tax, but Treasury noted that such an exemption wouldn't encourage EV purchases by individuals or companies that mainly buy vehicles for business use. Electric vehicles currently account for roughly 0.6 per cent of New Zealand's light passenger fleet.

The Labour led Government had looked set to introduce a feebate policy which would have subsidised the cost of cleaner vehicles by making polluting vehicles like SUVs cost more. Another clean car discount was designed to encourage importers to bring in cars with better emission standards.

Green Party MP and Associate Transport Minister Julie Anne Genter launched a discussion document on the feebate scheme in July last year, but New Zealand First blocked it, despite the Greens having accepted that farm vehicles would be exempt from the fees if there was no reasonable electric alternative. .

National has already announced a significant transport package in July Collins promised that, if elected,her government would fix Auckland's congestion crisis and transform infrastructure in the Upper North Island, by spending $31 billion over 10 years. More than half of the $31b, some $17b, would be spent on projects in the upper North Island, including Auckland, Hamilton, Tauranga and Whangārei.

Major transport projects already promised by National include:

• A four-lane expressway from Whangārei to Tauranga (including tunnels under the Brynderwyn and Kaimai mountain ranges) to be completed in 2040.

• An additional Auckland Harbour crossing in the form of a tunnel for road, rail and public transport (work to be started in 2028).

• A bus rapid transit from Onehunga to Auckland's CBD.

• A rail link loop connecting Auckland Airport to Puhinui and Onehunga.

• Upgrading Auckland's ferry services.

• Building the Northwest Rapid Transit Bus Corridor.

In the Wellington region, the transport package includes fast tracking a second Mt Victoria Tunnel and building a second Terrace Tunnel, and a new highway linking Seaview to State Highway 1 and rapid buses or trackless trains to the airport. The money to pay for the $31b worth of projects will come from more borrowing, future budgets and the Covid-19 recovery fund, National says. A National government would allow the NZ Transport Agency to borrow more money than it currently does.