Auckland Mayor Phil Goff has blamed the previous National Government for driving his city down a path of congestion and gridlock.

The Automobile Association (AA) on Monday released its latest Auckland Congestion Report, which claims drivers in the city lost 85 hours to congestion last year, up from 79 the year before.

"We want to see some really firm congestion targets set for Auckland, and we want progress to be measured against those," AA spokesperson Barney Irvine told Newshub.

"We want to see a lot of progress made on the investigation into congestion charging, and we want to see some new roading projects brought forward."

The AA fears Auckland's growing population and vehicle fleet means congestion is only going to get worse, despite the growing popularity of public transport. Irvine says the Government's congestion goals rely on projects being finished on time, which he doubts will happen.

"If we aren't going to meet this target, how bad are things going to be? And what's going to be done about it? This is far and away the number one transport issue for AA members."

Goff told The AM Show on Monday there has been record investment in transport since Labour and NZ First took over, and the city's most ambitious project - the City Rail Link (CRL) - should have been open by now.

"On Friday I signed the deal for the C3, the tunnels and the stations for the City Rail Link - I should have been cutting the ribbon to open it. It was five years late, and it's not with us until 2024. That's the frustration.

"The Government of the day didn't believe it was necessary."