Waiting at a train station is about to get less boring with Auckland Transport launching WiFi at them next week.
AT HOP WiFi launches at train stations 26 May
Following the introduction of Auckland’s new electric trains, free WiFi internet access will be launched at train stations on 26 May. Full WiFi access will be available for eligible registered AT HOP card users through a new service called “AT HOP WiFi”.
Auckland Transport, in conjunction with Telecom New Zealand, is initially introducing the service for eligible registered AT HOP users at 40 train stations on its public transport network. WiFi is scheduled to be phased onto the network’s 14 ferry wharfs and 11 bus terminals over the coming months.
Auckland Transport’s Chief Operating Officer, Greg Edmonds says, “AT is pleased to be partnering with Telecom to bring this added value service to our registered AT HOP card customers.
“We are always looking at ways to improve and add value to the public transport experience for our customers. WiFi at our train stations offers customers an opportunity to check out emails, Facebook, Buzzfeed and the like or to kick start their working or study day”.
Mr Edmonds says WiFi on trains, buses and ferries is also being reviewed as a possibility in the future, dependent on technology.
Ed Hyde, General Manager of the Telecom Digital Ventures team that has developed the WiFi solution says that free WiFi internet access on train stations is great news for Auckland.
“Greater connectivity on the go has huge benefits for transport users and for Auckland. People can better connect with their friends or keep in touch with their business or office while at the train station. International visitors can share their holiday experiences with family and friends. That’s all helping to make Auckland one of the world’s most liveable cities.
“Partnering with Auckland Transport to provide free WiFi for AT HOP users is a natural extension of the Telecom national WiFi strategy. We already have nearly 1000 WiFi hotspots around New Zealand, and partnering with key infrastructure providers such as Auckland Transport is the next step in delivering a seamless customer and mobility experience.”
Eligible AT HOP users will be able to access free WiFi with no daily time limit, although a data usage cap of 1GB per day will apply. Customers without an AT HOP card will be able to connect to the free WiFi service for 10 minutes a day.
To connect to the service, customers can log-on using the last seven digits on their AT HOP card, no matter who their current mobile provider is.
For more information, or to register your AT HOP card to be eligible for free WiFi visit AT.govt.nz/athop.
You can read the full terms of use of the AT HOP cards, the registered prospectus relating to the AT HOP cards and other information regarding the AT HOP cards on our website or at the Transport Information Centre, Britomart. The obligations of Auckland Transport under the AT HOP cards are unsecured. www.AT.govt.nz/athop
I think this is a great move by Auckland Transport and I particularly like what they’re doing by linking it into HOP. In my view making services better for HOP users is exactly what AT should be doing.
I’ve also checked and they say they are still working out the best way to roll WiFi out to the trains. When that does happen I hope they make it seamless so that logging on at the station carries on with you in your journey.
Good work Auckland Transport.
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An excellent development. Congratulations to all involved.
Catching the train is an even more attractive option now.
Fantastic AT.
Now, here are some more ideas: http://metromag.co.nz/city-life/urban-design/the-way-we-move-a-20-point-plan-for-auckland-transport/
Given I try to spend as little time at the station as possible, WiFi isn’t particularly useful.
WiFi on the train however is an excellent idea, especially with an unlimited time/1GB limit.
Agree – hardly worth it. If the train timetables were good, you shouldn’t spend more than 10 or so minutes at a station. If you are so low on data on your cell, then you need a bigger plan.
The hassle factor of login is makes it not worthwhile. I tried auto login on the Telecom network – it was a nightmare, everytime you came into range, you would log in (sounds great so far) but as you go out of range, the wifi signal drops to an unusable level but stays connected so your 3/4G connection doesn’t engage. So everytime you go into a station, you would login, then as you leave, anything you are doing would hang.
Having said that, should be relatively cheap to implement (telecom paying?) and does provide a service to leachers 😉
If they get it on trains/buses/ferries, then that is a different story!
I’m on Telecom and it’s a pretty hand service, whenever I’m near a phone box it logs me on automatically and I’ve yet to have any issues with drop outs as you describe. In a few years perhaps Auckland will have turn up and go frequencies, but in the meantime most people are having to wait around in stations and not having to use up your own data is a nice add on to having an AT-HOP card.
Maybe it’s a speed issue. I catch the bus along Ponsonby road so you are constantly in and out of range. At walking speed it may not be an issue. Trains will have the same issue every time they pull in and out if a station though by design, there maybe a physical end to the coverage unlike on a road where it just peters out slowly.
Hmm, not so sure about this. Most people with smart phones have data plans that are more than sufficient. In 5 years time data will be so cheap that this infrastructure will be largely redundant. Laptops may be a different case I guess…..
But lots of wifi tablets
It’s the sauce in the sandwich, it isn’t the meat.
“In 5 years time data will be so cheap that this infrastructure will be largely redundant”
Anything to do with technology that is installed today will be redundant in 5 years time, with the very odd exception…
This is a great plan that adds another small addition to the attraction of PT. Would be great if it could be rolled out to some of the busier bus stops too- I note that wherever UFB has gone in bus stops have received the conduit (though I’d suspect this is more for forward planning on the part of Adshel to roll out digital advertising).
Lots of people have a basic/mid range smartphone and don’t have any 3G data. If you have wifi at home and work/uni then why spend the money? this is great, but will be even better when it is on the trains too.
Most providers only give around 500MBs a month unless you want to go up onto one of their much more expensive plans and that’s not a lot of data. Sure in 5 years we may have unlimited data, but until then i.e. the next half decade I’m more than happy to have this service. The existing telecom is extremely useful, especially all those times I run out before the end of the month. Furthermore, my laptop/iPad etc etc don’t have 3/4G so this provides connectivity for them too.
There is a SA set that has free wifi and runs on the arvo peak period. Forgot the loco number.
WiFi at train stations sounds great! However, it is terrible that Auckland Transport decided to require a registered AT Hop card in order to be able to use it. (10 minutes Wifi is pointless and at best a token.) It’s also alarming that they are ambiguous on how much personal data they will share with Telecom. They should recognise it is a public service, see it as part of the Council’s plan to increase Wifi coverage in the city, and give decent Wifi service within train stations to everyone. If they want to reward Hop users, registered as well as unregistered Hop cards should both qualify for more data cap.
Your movement data is incredibly personal – from it many things can be analysed and inferred: who you are, where you live/work/study, your socioeconomic status, habits, preferences and more. Technologies like AT Hop make it possible to tie different PT trips to one person, making such analysis easy and accurate. Add the name, address and phone number from the registration, and you start to build a very detailed picture. It is already bad enough that Auckland Transport requires you to register your name, email, address and phone number to access services that don’t actually need the data. This service adds to that unnecessary pressure to be registered.
They also don’t seem to be clear on how much data they are sharing with Telecom. In the terms and conditions of AT Hop Wifi, here’s the clause dealing with the kind of data they are sharing:
> “Auckland Transport will only disclose to Telecom such personal information required to access to the Service and otherwise in accordance with the Auckland Transport Privacy Policy.”
“And otherwise”? That could be everything! And what data are “required to access to the service”? Will Auckland Transport pass on the actual travel pattern, account balance and registration detail for Telecom to check whether the card qualifies? These are all things Auckland Transport should be making clear.
I see the benefits of the Hop card – e.g. in gathering boarding data to make better planning decisions. But it would be highly questionable for Auckland Transport to pressure people into giving over more details than necessary, and then hand them to private companies for their benefit.
If you are concerned about your privacy based on the above I guess you can elect not to use the service and access data in another way.
However you are misreading the statement above. The otherwise isn’t unconnected. It’s connected to the words “in accordance with the Auckland Transport Privacy Policy.” It would seem that AT is providing enough information to verify that you are a valid user of the service. That seems reasonable and doesn’t seem like mass data sharing.
> If you are concerned about your privacy based on the above I guess you can elect not to use the service and access data in another way.
Yep, but I’m arguing that this wifi service is a public service, funded by a public agency and should be available to everyone with at least a high privacy standard.
> It would seem that AT is providing enough information to verify that you are a valid user of the service.
There isn’t enough information in what AT said in the agreement to conclude that way. Many terms and conditions itemise the data that are shared, yet this is left for the reader to interpret.
The reason that AT require personal details in relation to HOP Card registration is due to the fact it is peoples money on the cards, and is thus tightly regulated by the Financial Markets Authority. AT needs that information to ensure that a person who calls up asking for a refund is actually the person who that money belongs to. They can’t just go around giving out money left and right.
If you don’t want to share your details with AT then you don’t have to register, but then you also don’t get to have the money on your card secured. Its a trade off.
In terms of the information AT will give to Telecom, it seems like it’s going to be only the last 7 digits of the card number, and the user’s date of birth (for verification purposes). Doesn’t seem too onerous.
Here a few more of the little hoops you will have to “hop” through to use this service
https://at.govt.nz/bus-train-ferry/at-hop/at-hop-wifi/
Using AT HOP WiFi
Connect to the AT HOP WiFi network (powered by Telecom) on your device, and then log in using the last 7 numbers of your registered AT HOP card.
To access AT HOP WiFi you need to have:
1.a valid AT HOP card,
2.a registered AT HOP card,
3.used your AT HOP card within the last 5 days, excluding the day when the WiFi is used,*
4.an account balance on your AT HOP card that is not negative.*
Now point 3 just sounds plain wierd,
So you go on holiday for a week, when then when you return and go to get on the train to go to work, you will not be able to fully access the wifi at the station on that day, but it will work the next day, what an odd condition,
Also they have a “offisive material” provision, it will be interesting to see if any of the “moral outrage” groups use it to start banning certain sites from the service
4. If a user of the Service is found to be accessing inappropriate and/or offensive
material, Auckland Transport reserves the right at its sole discretion to withdraw
access to the Service without notice.
https://at.govt.nz/media/492752/AT-HOP-WiFi-Terms-and-Conditions.pdf
The exclusion of the day the WiFi is used is because of the delay in the HOP card system, which updates overnight. Same reason that it takes at least a day to get online top-ups onto your card. They have no way of knowing you’re using your card that day until the next day when the information updates. It’s a technical limitation of the system, surely not something they’re intentionally disallowing.
Well not really, you can get your live balance from ticket machines and tag-on posts and manned top-up P.O.S. devices, there’s no reason they cant hook that straight into telecom’s wifi system since its also at the stations, there’s really no excuse, the website I can excuse but still not fully understand the delay, how is populating updates in batches every 24 hours more efficient than every 3 seconds.Its surely not, I deal with sql/oracle databases all the time, putting a massive load on the server every night for some time is pointless and causes issues you might as well have it synchronize rapidly throughout the day and in the event of failure fall to a backup server (of which im sure people can handle being without live balances for 5 mins). I thought thales won the contract for a reason yet there system seems behind infratils one imo, the only upside was having it on more services than just there own… nzbus.
They say ‘upto 48 hours’. Buses only upload when they park at the depot, not sure about trains so they give a worse case and then, I assume over deliver.
I dont understand… if they only upload data at depots then howcome the charges are reflected imediatley and the trip pickup/dropoff shows on ur account info at ticket machines imediately…
Maybe because it is using info from the card? All I know is the data from the ETM is only uploaded from the bus once a day at the depot.
The card is the primary source of truth, as you tag on and off or top up it is all kept on the card itself. The data back to the central system allows for them to track usage and do things like reconciliation etc.
First you need a train service
So many train services around the world have wifi onboard. I have experienced it living in Cont. Europe for the past 3 and a bit years. The technology exists and is ready to go. That is far more useful to me than wifi at a station.
Yes, every little improvement is good. This is good, but not outstanding.
Sounds like an additional reason for a tourist to get a HOP card?
Yeah. There are probably a bunch of things we can do to make it easier for a tourist to get one (and then register). But this certainly tips the balance a little. Now that Auckland is starting to become a destination in its own right, the need to travel around increases.
Yes and then they have to wait for upto 48 hours before using it (see HOP WiFi T&C). Excellent, by that time they could of been finished with auckland and gone elsewhere on there journey to new zealand… lol.
This is awesome. Just been to ellerslie and back by train. Logged in at Newmarket station no probs. On the way back had long wait for train at ellerslie so opened phone and saw I was already on wi-fi. Great stuff AT.
And I was getting 2/5 bars while sitting in the Red Crab Thai in Ellerslie this evening. Didn’t try logging on. Signal probably doesn’t make it to the Japanese on the other side of the motorway.