Why Waka Kotahi wants 800 more cameras on the roads by 2030

Kiwis can expect more eyes on the road this year, with the speed camera fleet set to increase across the country.

By 2030, Waka Kotahi | New Zealand Transport Agency wants hundreds more on the road, which is estimated to see around three million tickets issued each year.

One stretch of road getting more cameras is Auckland’s Glenbrook Road.

While the Government said the move about reducing speeding – Franklin local board member Gary Holmes said it was a revenue generating exercise.

"The people I represent in Waiuku definitely feel picked on.

"We’ve had them in Waiuku here for the last five years and the injury and death accidents on this one stretch of road has not changed in those five years.

"However, in the corresponding time, these cameras have collecting $3 million worth of fines.”

New Zealand Transport Agency Waka Kotahi head of strategic programmes Tara MacMillan said the agency was currently focused on establishing a speed and red light operation to support up to 200 cameras.

By the end of the decade, NZTA is looking to expand the camera fleet to 800.

"This was where the optimal level of cameras for the investment was determined which would save roughly around 130 lives per year."

The transport agency said the single biggest road safety risk was speed.

Transport Minister Simeon Brown said evidence showed speed cameras made a difference.

When asked whether the move was, in fact, a revenue-generating exercise, Brown said the spots getting new cameras were "high risk, black spots".

"This is not a revenue-gathering tool. This is about making sure we are cracking down on speeding in areas where there are really high risks."

Officials were also looking at introducing specialised cameras, which captured a high-resolution image to see whether a driver was using their phone behind the wheel – and artificial intellgience could play a role in that.

"The more we bring automation in, the more we reduce the number of humans required to do those manual processing activities and it also delivers a high level of accuracy as well," said MacMillan.

To learn more about the new cameras set to hit Aotearoa, watch the video at the top of this article.