What are your thoughts on this, do you think the NZ public would accept this?
Given how trivially easy GPS is to disrupt, I think a lot of these devices would mysteriously start malfunctioning on the open road or on toll roads if this was actually done.
I’d like to see a system that simply queries the ECU for the vehicle’s odometer reading every time the vehicle is driven and sends that to the appropriate agency, with no location tracking involved.
I kind of, sort of like the idea of taking advantage of a new system. Not GPS, I don’t like that idea at all. But there are some interesting thoughts with the ideas of different charges based on emissions or safety.
But I think this ignores what makes petrol tax so good and what will make it hard to replicate the system in RUC. It’s simple. Dead simple. You don’t even think about it.
Now with everyone moving to RUC, different private vehicles will probably have the same rate which makes it pretty simple if more annoying. You know how much you will pay without having to think about what kind of vehicle you own (so long as you don’t need a new licence to drive it).
But how does this work with emissions? Now the system is more complicated. Every vehicle has a slightly different rate per km. Or maybe three groupings or something. But you’ve just made buying a vehicle more confusing. And how does this impact on people who are driving a 20 year old car and can’t afford a new one?
Now this gets even more complicated if you try to bring in safety. In the US, Teslas got a 5 star crash rating then went on to have double the average fatality rate. At what point do you change the RUC rate? Or do you just go with the test results and subsidise the Tesla owners getting hurt at a higher rate than they pay for? This also ignores that we have an entirely separate tax that covers this already, ACC that is paid as part of your car registration.
The minister dismissing concerns about privacy with “well, we have a privacy commissioner” doesn’t really give me any confidence. I’m guessing GPS tracking everyone will be too overt even for the general public to accept, so if it comes it will (surely…) be optional for some benefit.
Most likely they will have tiers if vehicles where they will lump a ute with a nissan micra on one level and the electric cars on another (more expensive) level because they are heavier, and commercial vehicles on a level where they pay very little per kilometer and kilometre because the businesses will lobby to get their RUC charges reduced to almost nothing.