The Campaign For Better Transport

The Auckland Regional Transport Authority (ARTA), in conjunction with its partner Thales and its funders the New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) and the Auckland Regional Council (ARC), today signed the contract to deliver a super transport ticket for Auckland. The ticket will be Auckland and New Zealand’s first, true multi-modal transport ticket. Thales’ strategic partner of Hong Kong’s leading contactless smart card payment system, Octopus will supply the core central clearing house system.

ARTA’s Chairman, Rabin Rabindran said, “This is history in the making for Auckland and New Zealand. After a long and often challenging process, ARTA is at the gate and very happy to be signing the contract for the supply of a superior, multi-modal transport ticket for Auckland, which forms the basis of a core central ticketing system for New Zealand. This is about winning the big game.

Read ARTA’s media release here.

The New Zealand Herald reports that Infratil is due to launch its electronic public transport ticket system, Snapper, on its NZ Bus services. Meanwhile the Auckland Regional Transport Authority is poised to agree the system with the French electronic firm Thales, which will allow passengers to transfer between buses, trains or ferries using a single smartcard. Things are getting very interesting in the integrated ticketing space.

Over at the forum, I asked the question what would make a good fare structure for Auckland.  Given the recent news that the Snapper system is coming to Auckland next year, I think it is important to focus on what would really make a difference to the average punter using buses, trains and ferries in the Auckland region.

Personally I’m drawn to the idea of fare caps, which is how I understand it works in London. In this scenario, punters are charged when they get on their first trip, but as they get on subsequent trips during the day they aren’t charged over a certain fare cap amount ($5 for example).

Anyhow, the post got a really great response from loose_shunter, “a fares policy person” over at the Victorian Department of Transport. It’s well thought out and informative, so I’ve posted it here as an article.  ARTA, employ that person!

Read the rest of this entry »

Today’s New Zealand Herald has an interesting op-ed by Fergus Gammie on integrated ticketing:

This system, designed and developed by the French Thales Group, is the preferred choice of the Auckland Regional Transport Authority (ARTA) for Auckland.

The path to be followed is similar to that in Denmark, which implemented the system in Copenhagen during 1995, and five years later expanded the project to cover the country.

Buses will have contactless card validators at entry and exit.

Stations will be equipped with similar validators and automatic gates, and have agent-operated point-of-sale terminals, self-service ticket vending and reloading machines.

The New Zealand Herald reports the NZTA’s announcement yesterday of funding approval for the Auckland Regional Transport Authority (ARTA) to conclude negotiations with a preferred tenderer for a seamless integrated ticket for passengers to ride on buses, trains and ferries under simpler fare structures.

The NZTA will take responsibility for the system, which could then be rolled out nationally. NZTA are interested in taking over integrated ticketing because a nationally integrated system could also be applied to toll roads, parking meters and car parking buildings, vastly simplifying the systems used for charging motorists as well.

Computerworld reports Infratil’s smart-card integrated ticketing subsidiary, Snapper, is in a last gasp attempt to win the contract for Auckland’s integrated ticketing system:

Snapper chief executive Miki Szikszai says Snapper can work with the Auckland Regional Transport Authority (ARTA) to have integrated ticketing on 90 percent of Auckland’s buses, trains and ferries by the time the Rugby World Cup kicks off.

ARTA media release

The Auckland Regional Transport Authority (ARTA), in conjunction with the New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA), today announced the next step in the delivery of an integrated ticketing system for Auckland’s train, bus and ferry users with the selection of a preferred tender.

ARTA’s Chairman, Rabin Rabindran says, “This is a critical next step in the delivery of an integrated ticket for use on Auckland’s public transport system opening the door to greater ease of public transport use by our customers. Having a smartcard in your pocket will be like having the keys to Auckland’s public transport system.

“In conjunction with NZTA we will be holding detailed negotiations with our preferred tenderer over the next few months and, subject to final confirmation of funding by NZTA, will lead to implementation of the system.

“ARTA’s tender process allows us to incorporate NZTA’s preferred approach including a centralised system and potential contestability of options available for parts of the system”.

Mr Rabindran said, “A consortium made up of French electronics company, Thales, in partnership with the Bank of New Zealand and Transfield services, has been selected by ARTA as the preferred tenderer to deliver New Zealand’s first fully integrated ticketing system for Auckland.

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There’s an interesting article in yesterday’s Herald about the progress of sorting out the mess Steven Joyce left Auckland’s public transport in when he cancelled the Regional Fuel Tax a couple of months back. There’s some good news, some frustrating news and some potentially good news.

On the positive side, “Money has been assured for new Auckland railway stations.” These include Newmarket, New Lynn, Manukau, Onehunga, Grafton and Avondale – some of which are already under construction (thereby making the need to sort out funding for their completion rather urgent.) The money looks like it will come from a variety of places, including higher ARC rates, an increased subsidy from NZTA and – here’s the killer – cutting back on the costs of Auckland’s integrated ticketing project.

I really don’t know why the government is so against integrated ticketing for Auckland’s public transport. Maybe they realise that simplifying the ticketing in Auckland, and creating something as up-to-date as the smart-card systems we see in London (Oyster Card) and Hong Kong (Octopus Card) will lead to a surge in patronage on Auckland’s public transport system, thereby undermining their view of public transport as something only for the poor and carless. Or maybe they’re being pressurised by Infratil (the owners of most of Auckland’s bus service providers) into delaying a project that Infratil doesn’t like. Either way, it’s pretty depressing to hear that funding has been cut to Auckland’s public transport to the extent that the ARC has had: “to try to scale back the integrated ticketing project, which previously carried a capital cost of about $80 million, including a 60 per cent Government subsidy. Mr Lee said the council would try to find ways of halving that cost.”

These most recent developments mean that the best Auckland can really hope for is to get our version of Wellington’s Snapper Card. Now this is a great outcome for Infratil – as they own Snapper Card – but is no guarantee that this smart-card system will be equally available for all public transport operators in the Auckland Region. Therefore, there seems to be no guarantee that the ticketing system will, in fact, be integrated. When this lack of money for integrated ticketing is coupled with the Ministry of Transport’s decision to review the Public Transport Management Act (the very piece of legislation that gives ARTA the power to impose integrated ticketing), it’s hard not to be suspicious that this critical step in the future of Auckland’s public transport is going to be delayed at best, or possibly even cancelled.

There is a light on the horizon about Auckland’s electric trains though – with Steven Joyce saying “he would report to the cabinet next month on options for buying an electric fleet and that, despite Mr Lee’s nervousness, “we remain committed to electrification”. I can understand Mike Lee (head of the ARC) being nervous though, and I’ll believe that we’re getting electric trains when I see the contract signed.