Authorities around New Zealand are braced for Friday morning's
truck convoys in protest at increased Road User Charges.
Hundreds of big trucks are expected to jam roads and streets in a protest over a rise in the charges of between 7% and 10%.
Trucking companies say the rise has been introduced by the government without any warning or consultation with them.
The increase has been imposed to help with the damage large trucks do to the country's roads.
Auckland
Auckland authorities have been in talks planning how to handle the protest.
Mayor John Banks says people can help minimise the disruption by delaying non-essential trips into town. Banks says he supports the truckies' cause.
But Queen Street retailers say smelly diesel trucks have no place in the CBD. Auckland's Heart of the City CEO Alex Swney says the truckies' convoy in Queen Street sounds more like a stunt than a well thought-out protest and trucks belong on the motorways.
Swney says while he and probably most New Zealanders have sympathy for the cause, the inconvenience is unwelcome.
And Waitemata road policing manager Superintendent John Kelly is pleading with the public to use alternative transport. He says there will be officers out in force patrolling the city streets but that might not be enough to stop disruptions to traffic.
Wellington
It's expected Wellington traffic will be brought to a standstill as around 200 trucks cram the city's streets.
Mike Dennehy from the local Road Transport Forum says two convoys will set off from Paekakariki and Seaview at 7:00am on Friday and make their way into Wellington. He says the trucks will come through the Terrace Tunnel and along city streets including Lambton Quay and up Molesworth Street past parliament.
He's expecting the move to have a huge impact on traffic and hopes it will make the government sit up and listen.
Emergency services fears
Dunedin police are concerned at the effect the truck protest will have on emergency services.
Truckies are expected to converge on CBDs around the country for two hours from 7:30am.
Inspector Alistair Dickie says the protest has the potential to cause huge disruption. He says they police are meeting with local organisers to see where the trucks are going to stop.
The Automobile Association also wants motorists to be mindful of emergency services during the protest.
AA spokesman Mike Noon says motorists held up by the protests must remember emergency vehicles have right of way.
Manawatu
And truck drivers throughout the Manawatu will be hitting the main streets of Palmerston North to join nationwide protests against the hike in road-user chargers. Regional manager of the Road Transport Association Sandy Walker says he expects the majority of drivers in Manawatu to take part in the go-slow.
Christchurch
Organisers of Christchurch's truckies protest hope the public will bear with them.
Canterbury Road Transport Association area manager Peter Goodwin
says he knows the protest convoy will upset some people.
Find out where the truckies will be protesting in your
town
