One of those taking part in Friday's truckies' protest was veteran John Astle who has been on the road for more than three decades.
He says tough conditions forced him to support the
protest.
Astle's been behind the wheel of a truck for 34 years and he's
built up camaraderie with other truck drivers and it's a job he
loves.
So when an estimated 2000 trucks converged on Auckland's central business district, Astle queued up with the rest of them to protest against the government's tax hikes for road users.
Astle says this is the first time he has been involved in a protest, and had never in his life hit the street as a protester until Friday that is.
He says costs have skyrocketed since his early days on the job.
Like most drivers taking part in the protest, Astle works for a big trucking company called Powell Transport.
The higher road user charges will not affect his pocket directly, but he is worried if his bosses costs go up, he could soon be out of work.
"You know fuel's gone up all that sort of thing, now the road users are going up it's very difficult to run a fleet of trucks cost wise," says Astle.
Powell Transport's costs have doubled in the past six months - it now costs $130,000 a month to run a fleet of 30 trucks.
Friday's protest will cost haulers thousands in lost revenue, but those taking part say it's worth every cent.
