No Tolls Papamoa
NZTA in collusion with Tauranga City Council are going to toll the Papamoa Eastern Interchange. The costs will be $1.10 per car.
The Government has also passed an amendment to the Road Tolling Act to allow this. The tolling will start by the end of December 2026.
This is unjustified and expensive for local residents who use the PEI. Surveys by NZTA and TCC showed overwhelming rejection by residents of the plan to toll the offramp, but this was ignored.
The group NO Tolls Papamoa and Mitre 10 have presented petitions to Parliament to stop the tolling. The Transport Minister is ignoring this and is hellbent on starting the tolling. This shows an ideological desire overcoming common sense.
Interestingly, after the fixed costs are removed from the toll, there is approx 10cents left which is meaningless. The cost of the tolling gantry and cameras is over $4 million. NZTA have not prepared a business case for this Tolling.
Email your objection to the Minister of Transport chris.bishop@parliament.govt.nz
PRRA has written to the Minister asking that the tolls are removed. See below.
Letter to Minister of Transport 31 July 2026
31 July 2026
Attention Chris Bishop
Minister of Transport
Mr Bruce Giddon
NZTA
RE:Submission Opposing Tolls at the Papamoa East Interchange
Dear Chris & Bruce
Our organisation supports the No Tolls Papamoa campaign.
The decision by NZTA to introduce tolls at the Papamoa East Interchange (PEI) appears difficult to justify on economic, operational or policy grounds. Based on the information currently available, the proposal is inconsistent with previous NZTA decisions elsewhere in New Zealand and is not supported by a robust business case. There appears to be no business case for this additional toll.
I respectfully request a response to the following matters before the closing date for tenders for the purchase of the proposed toll gantries and camera systems. This submission has also been provided to NZTA, and I request that both organisations respond within the same timeframe.
1. Existing Toll Gantry Location
The location of the existing Tauranga Eastern Link (TEL) toll gantry was deliberately chosen to allow motorists to use a future Wairakei PEI off-ramp without incurring a toll. Tolling the PEI was not in the original plans. The Papamoa East Interchange has been developed within that original network design, and there appears to be no necessity to duplicate tolling infrastructure.
2. Revenue Contribution to the Tauranga Eastern Link
NZTA has stated that toll revenue from the Papamoa East Interchange will contribute towards repaying the cost of the Tauranga Eastern Link.
However, based on NZTA's published information, a $1.10 toll for a light vehicle would be substantially reduced by:
Transaction processing costs ($0.80)
GST
Operation and maintenance costs of the tolling system
After these deductions, the net revenue retained per vehicle appears to be approximately 10 cents, meaning the actual contribution towards repayment of the Tauranga Eastern Link would be minimal.
Note: NZTA expects only $816,000 per annum of additional net revenue in 2035. That is less than 1% of the $98million interchange cost per year and advances final TEL debt by only about one year. On NZTA’s own forecasts, the proposal does not materially the financial position of the TEL.
3. Cost of the Tolling Infrastructure
An Official Information Act (LOGIMA) response from NZTA indicates that the proposed toll gantries and associated camera systems will cost approximately $4 million.
Using conservative assumptions:
Net revenue: $0.10 per vehicle
Traffic volume: 10,000 vehicles per day
Daily net revenue would be approximately $1,000, meaning it would take around 4,000 days (more than 10 years) simply to recover the capital cost of the tolling infrastructure itself, excluding financing costs, maintenance, renewals and inflation.
This raises a significant question as to whether the proposal represents good value for money. If the tolling infrastructure takes more than a decade merely to recover its own installation cost, its contribution towards repayment of the Tauranga Eastern Link is likely to be extremely limited.
4. Inconsistent Treatment Compared with the Rangiuru Business Park Interchange
The proposed tolling of the Papamoa East Interchange appears inconsistent with NZTA's approach to the Rangiuru Business Park interchange on the Tauranga Eastern Link. Both interchanges provide access to developments connected to the toll road, yet only one is proposed to attract a toll. What is the policy basis for this different treatment?
5. Local Ratepayer Contribution
The Papamoa East Interchange was jointly funded by Tauranga City Council and NZTA. Given that local ratepayers have already funded approximately half of the construction cost through rates, it would seem reasonable that any toll revenue generated from the interchange should also be shared proportionately. Otherwise, Papamoa residents who have already contributed through local rates will effectively be paying twice for the same infrastructure.
6. Comparison with the Northern Gateway Toll Road
A comparable situation exists on Auckland's Northern Gateway Toll Road. Motorists travelling on the tolled motorway to use the Orewa interchange are not required to pay an additional toll for exiting at that interchange. Why is a different approach being proposed for the Papamoa East Interchange?
Update:
An OIA response released 4 May 2026 states that NZTA did not prepare a business case for the new toll gantry because the PEI was delivered by Tauranga City Council, while NZTA’s role was limited to installing tolling equipment on the existing toll road. “The request for a business case was therefore refused on the basis that no such document exists.” This is significant because it supports the proposition that there is no business case for the toll installation. There is also an absence of a publicly demonstrated investment case.
Conclusion
The available information suggests that tolling the Papamoa East Interchange will generate little, if any, meaningful financial contribution towards repayment of the Tauranga Eastern Link after operating costs are taken into account. At the same time, approximately $4 million would need to be invested in tolling infrastructure that may take more than ten years merely to recover its own capital cost.
In these circumstances, the proposal does not appear to represent sound economic management or good public policy. A more prudent option would be to abandon the proposal to toll the PEI , avoid the capital expenditure associated with installing new tolling infrastructure, and retain the existing tolling arrangements.
For these reasons, I respectfully request that NZTA and the Government reconsider the proposal and decide not to introduce tolls at the Papamoa East Interchange.
Kind regards,
Philip Brown Chair Papamoa Residents & Ratepayers Association chairprra@gmail.com
Cc Tom Rutherford
Sam Uffindell
Jan Tinetti
Cameron Luxton
Mahe Drysdale Mayor Tauranga City
Brett Gildon NZTA
Simon Bridges NZTA
Andrew Kanckstedt NZTA
Caro No Tolls Papamoa
Councillors Tauranga City
No Tolls papamoa Off ramp No tolls PEI Tauranga