Auckland will try to avoid Melbourne’s smart card pain by getting its city bus card system right first time
June 4, 2013
Auckland Transport has sought advice from consultant Deloitte that this month’s roll out of the new AT HOP smartcard on the region’s bus network will start operating without any glitches.
Auckland Transport Chairman Lester Levy says the board sought independent assurance from Deloitte that AT HOP was being implemented in line with international best practise, and that the card will be enhanced based on Deloitte’s recommendations.
“I am also pleased that we have identified a number of possible improvements that will drive even more customer demand,” Levy says.
“Quite simply we want to make travel across all modes as easy, fast, convenient and inexpensive as possible because public transport is the game-changer if we are to improve transport in Auckland across the board.”
Among Deloitte’s recommendations were the need to improve the speed, reliability and user-friendliness of ticket machines which allow money to be loaded onto AT HOP cards, and also continues to sell paper tickets.
Also recommended was the creation of an expanded retail network where customers can purchase and top-up cards, as well as investigating the possibility of transactions via mobile phones, and introducing cards pre-loaded with funds for casual users and visitors to Auckland.
Levy adds that as well as AT HOP, Auckland will soon see a new frequent bus network which will see buses arriving and departing at least every 15 minutes on high frequency routes, making public transport around New Zealand’s largest city a more attractive option.
“Around 80 percent of public transport trips are on buses,” Levy says.
“Frequency and reliability of services are critical so that people can plan and go about their daily lives. Vastly improving those services is a major focus for our operations.”