Integrated ticketing in Auckland closer

The deal to secure the long awaited integrated ticketing for public transport in Auckland has moved one step further but is unlikely to be in place by the 2011 Rugby World Cup.

The single integrated ticket, or smart card, will allow people to swipe their card to pay for their fare on busses, ferries and trains, regardless of the operator or mode of transport.

Auckland Regional Transport Authority (ARTA) chief executive Fergus Gammie said implementation of the scheme will likely take two to three years but first needs to secure funding from the national transport authority. The Government's transport agency will consider final approval for funding in September.

The New Zealand Transport Agency has approved a 60 per cent share of a capital expenditure envelope of $70 million to set up the project and $6.5m in annual operating costs. The capital cost later rose to $80m leaving the Auckland Regional Council to contribute $32m.

The ARC has since halved its budget after the Government's withdrawal of a regional fuel tax.

ARTA programme director Greg Ellis said studies overseas have shown that integrated ticketing increases patronage on public transport by between five and ten per cent.

ARTA announced its "preferred tenderer" at a press conference this afternoon.

The tenderer is a consortium of Bank of New Zealand, Transfield and Thales. Mr Gammie said Thales has delivered similar schemes in over 100 cities around the world, including Paris, Toronto and Oslo.

Mr Gammie said selecting the tenderer allows the authority to take the next step in negotiations with Thales.

He would not be drawn on how much the scheme could cost, given the tendering process has not finished.

Mr Gammie said the process is still alive which means if the parties reach a loggerhead then ARTA can go back to the other tenderers.

New Zealand Transport Agency chief executive Geoff Dangerfield said the authority is committed to integrated ticketing across the country.

"The NZTA board has yet to make, its funding decision on integrated ticketing and it will only do that once the tender discussion and negotiation process has taken a few more steps," Mr Dangerfield said.

The tender process was held up after a complaint was received about the process by Snapper, who parent company, Infratil, also owns the main Wellington and Auckland bus fleets. NZTA investigated the concerns and found that ARTA's process was sound.

"As far as we're concerned that matter is now closed," Mr Dangerfield said.