A former Route K user has vowed to avoid the toll road in future after receiving a bill of $6.70 for a single trip.

Now, Tauranga's Tom Clarke is questioning how the New Zealand Transport Agency can justify such a fee.

After a bill of $6.70 for a single trip, Tom Clarke has gone off the idea of using Route K. Photo: Bruce Barnard.

'I used to use that toll road between The Lakes and Tauranga frequently,” says Tom. 'Most people have a few spare coins in their car. You pay the people, say hello, and you carry on.

'Now it's been automated, I haven't been going through there, but my wife did and soon after I got a bill in the mail for $6.70. That was one trip.

'I didn't know there was going to be an additional fee. I understood it to be $1.80, so there's going to be a lot of people caught out. I bet they will be spewing about it too.

'I think $6.70 for one trip is just ridiculous. I guess we will have to get smarter and set up an account. It's just another bill to pay isn't it?”

The New Zealand Transport Agency says the fee is to cover the costs involved in finding the owner of the vehicle. The video needs to be visually checked, the owner located and the bill printed and posted.

To help customers get used to the new tolling system, the NZTA have increased the normal timeframe for payment from five to 19 business days after a trip is recorded.

If no payment is received within 19 days, customers are sent a reminder called a Toll Payment Notice, which incurs an additional $4.90 administration charge.

If the Toll Payment Notice remains unpaid after 28 days, an Infringement Notice may be issued and the outstanding debt may be sent to a debt collection agency.

Historically, with the Northern Gateway Toll Road near Auckland, the agency has experienced a 97 per cent compliance on payment of trips made.

Takitimu Drive toll road is experiencing an average of 6000 vehicles per day. In 2014, the average vehicles per day was 5400, representing an 11 per cent increase.

NZTA BOP highways manager Niclas Johansson believes the higher vehicle numbers on Takitimu Drive is because people no longer have to search for loose change to travel through.

The electronic tolling means people can have one toll account that covers all three of the Transport Agency's toll roads – the Tauranga Eastern Link, Northern Gateway and the former Route K, now Takitimu Drive Toll Road.

On the TEL, the average traffic number is 6400 vehicles per day, compared to the predicted 6000. Most (86 per cent) are cars motorbikes and light trucks, with 14 per cent heavy vehicles.

'The TEL is one of the best roads in NZ,” says Niclas. 'It's extremely safe and it shaves off a lot of time, so it is no surprise that people are choosing to use it.

'We are excited by the high number of vehicles per day and we expect the number of travellers using the TEL to continue growing – especially with the predicted population boom that is expected in Papamoa.

'One Auckland man called our Tauranga office last month to tell us that he didn't mind paying the toll because the road was 'simply gorgeous” and 'surely the eighth wonder of the world”.

'He called just to pass on his congratulations to the TEL team and told us he hasn't enjoyed driving on a road as much in a long time.”

The $1.20 transaction fee charged for over the counter sales at BP or Caltex service stations is on the transaction not the toll, says Niclas.

Customers can pre-purchase up to 10 tolls in one transaction, incurring only one $1.20 fee (12 cents per toll). Alternatively, tolls can be paid online at: www.tollroad.govt.nz to avoid the transaction fee altogether.