No Short-Term Solution To High Oil Prices
May 1st, 2008
It was only a matter of time before rising oil prices started to become a political hot potato and as high fuel prices start to bite a range of politicians and special interest groups are calling for Central and Regional Govt to hold off on introducing regional fuel taxes. Unfortunately the reality is they can do little to offset high oil prices for most people in the short term so the focus has to be on how to reduce the impact of high oil prices in the future. We are reaping the harvest of being overly reliant on road transport for the past 40-50 years. A day of reckoning had to come. The fact is additional funding is required to improve transport infrastructure to cope with the growing demand for personal mobility and movement of freight. The question therefore becomes what is the best approach to facing up to this situation.
No Policy Change Will Make Situation Worse. Certainly the business as usual approach of major and sustained increases in boosting road capacity will not make it cheaper to move people or freight. In fact it is likely to reduce personal mobility and boost freight costs still further. We may be able to control the cost of roading but neither the price of oil nor the global influences which drive the price. We need to start weaning ourselves off oil dependent transport onto better public transport and cycle facilities in our urban areas, better rail services for both people and freight and enhanced coastal shipping services.
Jobs Out Of Thin Air. Despite the huge hit the economy is taking from high oil prices and its negative impact on transport costs, unsubstantiated claims continue to be made to justify further boosting our dependency on road transport with some groups saying this policy will enhance the economy not handicap it. The most recent are claims the Auckland Western Ring Route by its very existence will create 18,000 jobs. This is of course complete nonsense as the inevitable traffic congestion will offset any initial efficiency gains. Providing much better public transport networks combined with a comprehensive network of dedicated cycleways reducing the amount people have to spend on cars and car commuting is definitely likely to generate jobs.
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