The NZ Herald reports on the launch of a special public transport ticket for use during the Rugby World Cup, to be known as the “A-Pass”:
The A-Pass has been rushed into production to provide overseas visitors with the type of electronic transport ticket many will be used to in their home cities.
But it will be available for anyone to buy and use between September 1 and October 24 for $15 a day, and will serve as a combined visual and electronic ticket based on the Hop card, which has operated since May on Auckland’s largest bus fleet.
Although it will cost the same as the existing visual Discovery pass, and will entitle holders to the same unlimited travel for a day at a time on trains, buses and inner-harbour ferries, it will also include discount offers to city attractions such as the zoo and several museums.
While there’s nothing particularly special in what the pass offers – what’s far more exciting is that it will test the Thales integrated ticketing system before a wider rollout later this year and early next year.
Public transport to and from Rugby World Cup games will be free to match ticketholders, but those who want to see the sights between times will be able to load up to six days of travel entitlements on to each pass.
Its importance to the roll-out of the region’s $98 million integrated public transport ticket scheme is that it will be used to tag on electronically to trains and ferries for the first time, and not just on buses operated by subsidiary companies of NZ Bus.
I remain somewhat sceptical at the huge amount of cash spent on transport projects in the name of the Rugby World Cup (especially motorway projects, does the government think all these visitors will bring their cars on the plane or something?) However, for relevant projects like upgrading the signalling on the rail network and hurrying along integrated ticketing a bit, it seems the World Cup has been useful. Let’s hope everything works OK.
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This will be a great demonstration of the capabilities of the Thales ticketing solution. We’ve heard previously that the A-Pass concept will allow you to choose the days that you wanted the card to be valid on.
Wonder what “will serve as a combined visual and electronic ticket based on the Hop card” means? I guess we will find out shortly if you can actually tag on with the A-card on NZ Bus services. I also wonder where the $98m figure comes from:
“the capital cost of the project has come in at $47 million.”
http://www.thalesgroup.com/Press_Releases/Countries/Australia/2009/aus-2009-12-07-super-ticket-for-super-city-signed-today/
I hope the pass concept will continue when the new fare zone structure is announce next year.
$15 / day. So that’s how much bus operators feel an unlimited transport card is worth (to them). That is very expensive. Also, will this be available on a weekly (mere $105) or monthly ($450) basis as well, under the silly assumption that tourists will stay in Auckland for more than 24 hours and perhaps not wish to repurchase a new card every day?
Dan my understanding is that purchaser will be able to choose the six days the card should be valid for. Not quite sure what level of training the retailer will need to program that or where the cards will be available from, but all will be revealed shortly.
I wonder what restrictions will be in place – presumably the same as the Discovery Pass:
http://www.maxx.co.nz/info/pricing-passes/types-of-tickets/discovery-pass.aspx
The discount on visitor attractions is a good idea. Would be great if it includes free travel on the Wynyard tram…
From what I readon the MAXX website, the key differences between this card and the Discovery pass are that it is not geographically restricted like the Discovery, meaning it can be used for travel to/from Helensville and Pukekohe, although I don’t see many tourists using it for that. Maybe a few Pukekohe residents may use it for outings (if only they had trains there on weekends, at least they can transfer I suppose).
The other difference is the pass is valid for discounted entry into some attractions, listed on the MAXX site. This is part of it’s visitor focus.
Dan, quite. I paid $6 per day for an all stages transport card in Melbourne.
Integrated ticketing, done wrong.
Maybe the costing is based on conservative worst cases of people travelling long distances? In Melbourne there is 2 different zones and the $6 per day is for zone 1 only. All zones all day is AU$10 = NZ$12.50
http://www.metlinkmelbourne.com.au/fares-tickets/metropolitan-fares-and-tickets/myki/myki-money/
This is still cheaper, and week/year passes are cheaper still, but not by as much as you make out.
It seems that $15 covers the bus operators’ assumption that a typical tourist will make two, stage 2 ($3.40) round trips over the course of a day, plus another $1.40 for contingencies + the privilege of adminstrating each card. At these prices, a true integrated system will never work. Catering to this system of private bus operators is the absolute worst – the transport equivalent of health care provision in the US.
The detail is all in the Ts & Cs on the MAXX site.
Tag-on on operators with validators (NZ Bus, Veolia, Fullers), visual pass with a sticker for all other operators. Explains why you can only load up to six days on one card.
http://www.maxx.co.nz/info/pricing-passes/types-of-tickets/a-pass/a-pass-terms-and-conditions.aspx
As a tourist, PT user and observer let me tell you that $15 a day is a pittance compared to what you fork out to fly from even Australia and then put yourself up in a hotel. Throw in the discounts on attractions as well and it is a bargain. Tell me where you can hire a car for $15 a day and I would still decline driving around a city I do not know and with driving rules I do not know. Oh! I suppose I could get a satnav thrown in for an EXTRA $15 a day to solve that. This deal is for TOURISTS. It is similar to whatever it was I used last September whilst visiting Auckland. $15 a day for most of your public transport is a steal.
Of course it is not as good as my $2.50 a day for the greater Sydney metropolitan area as a senior but as a tourist it is still GOOD!
Tourists usually travel in couple/groups. They can share a car with someone and then it’s already cheaper than PT. Not to mention the fact that then they can move around without even having to try to understand how AKL PT works.
And after 11pm.
$15 is pretty good for all day travel on all modes across Auckland. Trust me. Just depends whether they use the card more than few times in a day.
Went to the PR demo of the A-Pass at the Thales Integrated Test Facility. All went smoothly. Was even able to tag on to the Snapper validator that was there, using the A-Pass.
Ah cool, I was meaning to make it there but got stuck at the Transport Committee meeting as they were having an interesting discussion about harbour bridge pedestrian links.
So, yet another company is jumping on the “let’s give tourists the worst possible view of NZ while they’re here for the world cup by tripling our prices” bandwagon then. So sad. The biggest opportunity to attract tourists to this country in many many years and every single one of them is going to go away with the overriding feeling that they just got fleeced to within an inch of their lives by every hotel, motel, bar, restaurant, cab, shop and method of transport known to man. I’m embarrassed for this country, it’s appalling.
I don’t understand. Given that this is the same price as the Discovery yet covers a (slightly) wider area and also provides discounted entry into some visitor attractions, how does this equate to price tripling?
Matt seems to think that right now, it costs $5, or why the aggrieved comment about “tripling” the price?
Also, I don’t know what world people are living in, but $15 for a one-off all-day ticket seems quite reasonably priced too me. Certainly not one that will get anybody to tell stories of how pricey Auckland is.
The Waiheke Ferry and bus system should have been included.
Why? The Waiheke ferry is an over 30-minute trip, with the substantial fuel and operations costs that come with providing such a ferry service. By including these, you would have increased the overall price quite significantly, including for all those who will never go to Waiheke on the pass. It’s always easy to ask for more, but as you have seen from the comments here, people already think the ticket is overpriced!
– Because we are part of Auckland Cuncil and pay Auckland rates and transport levies. Actually, we subsidise your living in the city since the Council extracts more in rates than it spends over here.
– Because our current Waiheke ferry monthly pass is also valid on all NZ Bus and H&E bus services and should be extended to all other bus, train and ferry services in the Auckland Council area.
– Because the Discovery pass should cover all areas Auckland Transport covers with subsidies (it doesn’t give money to Fullers – apart from maintaining the wharves – but the Waiheke Bus Co gets a subsidy)
– Because we want properly regulated and subsidised public transport to Waiheke, as all other Auckland neighbourhoods, not a glorified private transport monopoly.
– Because a lot of Aucklanders on a Discovery Pass would love to come to Waiheke on that ticket too. Super Gold Card holders can already, so why not all other citizens?
– Because integrated ticketing should be based on distance travelled, regardless of mode of public transport.
Hans, living in Waiheke is in some ways like living in Warkworth, or Piha. You get some amenities like more space & nature than the city dweller – but with the exception of some real long-term locals, you did CHOSE to live outside of town, with certain downsides that go with the upsides. One of those is that your “Council services per dollar of rates” will NEVER be as good as in the city, nor will your public transport – it’s a matter of density.
@MAx: using your logic, you should pay Waiheke commuters their ferry fares because that’s 1,200 fewer cars on Auckland roads if we were all forced off the island and have to come live in town again.
Does anyone else think of and Ape’s bottom when they hear A-Pass?
Interesting comment about Waiheke population density made by Max.
If taken on a nationwide basis Waiheke has the highest population density of the main N Z islands. I realise this may not be greater than AK central suburbs but I wonder what the result would be if the Auckland Council area that is covered by the A pass was taken into the calculation.
The reality is that any discount schemes that are available to those in NI Auckland are not offered to Waiheke residents as the ferry operators are able to operate a ‘captive market’ pricing stratagy on Waiheke originated travel.