Trucks. Some facts ... (updated)

• Trucks pay for half the costs of our state highways, but on a normal day they make up just a fraction of the traffic.
  
  The fact is this sector is truly a backbone of the economy. Everything you're using, wearing, eating and throwing out came to you and will be disposed of by truck.
  
  Without a railway, a small handful of businesses would face higher costs (and Wellington might need some more buses) - but without trucks, the economy is over.
  
  
• Truckers do not get a 'free ride.' Truckers pay more than 91% of the inflated "costs to th eeconomy" determined in a Ministry of Transport report that monetises stuff like "noise." If there's anyone getting a 'free ride' it's bus and train passengers -- so if you want to hand out 'free ride' posters, hand them to a bus or train bludger.
  
  
• Despite Annette King's lies, not all of the Road User Charge goes to pay for roads. More than fifteen percent goes to pay for public transport, coastal shipping, walking and cycling paths, none of whom contribute at all.
  
  If there's anybody who isn't paying their way then it's not truckers, it's all the Greens' very favourite things -- the moochers.
  
  
• Remember, there's nothing environmentally sustainable about rail, the 'competitor' on whose behalf the government are trying to stifle the competition -- and given that FailRail will never every pay for itself and will just suck up subsidies for ever, nothing financially sustainable either. As Liberty Scott has said before, the marginal environmental costs of hauling freight on a tonne km basis sometimes are generally much higher by rail than by road.
  
  
• This is the first time ever that any government has NOT provided warning of an increase in Road User Charges, -- it always gave diesel vehicle owners a month to prepay at the original price (and the government would get handy cashflow in that short period).
  
  
• This is also the first time that the Minister has so blatantly lied to the Road Transport Forum about RUC. Assuring that a month's notice would be given, then ignoring it.
  
  
• The increase would also not be needed if the government hadn't applied Green ideas to road building, inflating the cost of projects like the ALPURT motorway bypass of Orewa by as much as 20-25%, and delaying State Highway One between Auckland and Hamilton due to taniwhas.
  
  
• The government's own study a few years ago (which the Greens misuse) said (quote) "Current charges (mainly Road User Charges) are in most cases greater than the level of marginal provider/external costs (principally accident externalities and marginal road wear)" attributable to trucks.
  
  
• Note that this protest opposes the increase by stealth of the Road User Charges. National has NOT said it would reverse this increase.
  
  
• Note too that Labour with support from the Greens, NZ First and United Future have
  just passed legislation allowing all regional councils to impose a new diesel tax of up to 10c a litre, half to fund public transport! Again National has not said it would repeal this. This will be the first fuel excise tax on diesel since 1977 when RUC was introduced to replace it.
  

[Hat tip Liberty Scott, where there's more, much more, of the same]

TO BE CONTINUED ...