The New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) is urging electric vehicle (EV) and plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) owners to purchase their first road user charges (RUC) licence before the looming deadline of 31 May 2024.

EVs and PHEVs became subject to RUC on 1 April 2024, with owners given until the end of May to secure their licence.

Failure to comply by the deadline could result in road-side police infringements and backdated invoices from NZTA, plus late payment penalties.

“We’re encouraging people not to leave it to the last minute, as there will be penalties. If you haven’t already bought your licence, now’s the time to do it,” said Tara Macmillan, Head of Regulatory Programmes for NZTA.

Ms Macmillan reassured vehicle owners that purchasing a RUC licence is a quick and straightforward process.

“It’s quick and easy to buy RUC online – just go to the NZTA website and click on Online Services then Buy a road user charges licence. If online is not an option you can also buy over the counter at an NZTA agent,” she explained.

To complete the purchase, vehicle owners will need their vehicle’s plate number, current odometer reading, and a payment method.

After buying the RUC, NZTA will send a pouch to display the licence on the vehicle’s windscreen, similar to vehicle registration.

When buying RUC, owners pre-pay for the distance they plan to travel in units of 1,000km.

The RUC rate is $76 per 1,000km for EVs and $38 per 1,000km for PHEVs, which also incur petrol tax.

An additional admin fee of $12.44 applies for online purchases, while transactions through an agent incur a $13.71 fee.

“Over two-thirds of New Zealand’s 105,000 electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids have already bought their RUC licence, which is great to see,” Ms Macmillan noted.

“We’re expecting a surge as we get closer to 31 May, so we encourage people to get onto it now to avoid that last-minute rush.”

The transition marks the end of a longstanding exemption for EVs and PHEVs from road user charges, which had been in place since 2009.

As Ms Macmillan pointed out, everyone who uses New Zealand roads contributes to their maintenance.

Petrol users pay through fuel taxes, while diesel vehicles and now EVs pre-pay with RUC.

The move to include EVs and PHEVs in the RUC scheme aligns with the principle that all road users should contribute fairly to infrastructure upkeep.

This policy shift ensures that as the number of electric vehicles increases, they contribute proportionately to road maintenance costs.

As the deadline approaches, NZTA continues to remind vehicle owners of the importance of timely compliance.

“We’re expecting a surge as we get closer to 31 May, so we encourage people to get onto it now to avoid that last-minute rush,” Ms Macmillan reiterated.

For more information or to purchase a RUC licence, vehicle owners can visit the NZTA website or contact an authorised NZTA agent.