Te Huringa Taraiwa: Te arotake I te pūnaha utu kaiwhakamahi rori | ‘Driving Change: Reviewing the Road User Charges System’, is a discussion document on possible changes intended to improve the RUC system and support the uptake of low-carbon vehicles.

The document discusses how RUC might be used to charge for greenhouse gas emissions and other factors beyond damage to the roads, including noise pollution and congestion, how light electric vehicle owners can transition into paying RUC when the exemption for EVs ends in March 2024, and how the RUCs compliance regime can be improved.

Other possible changes are also being considered, including removing paper label requirements for RUC and the vehicle licence (rego), transitioning CNG/LPG vehicles into the RUC system, and mandating electronic RUC for heavy vehicles.

In the 2020/21 financial year, RUC contributed nearly $2 billion to the total National Land Transport Fund revenue of $4.3 billion.

Some 800,000 light RUC vehicles contributed $800 million in RUC licences, while 190,000 heavy vehicles (including trailers towed by heavy vehicles) contributed $1.1 billion.

Written submissions close 22 April 2022. Full details and the submissions portal can be found here: https://www.transport.govt.nz/consultations/road-user-charges-consultation/.