Bus users risk injury to avoid 'tag off' fine

The payment system has started in North Shore, but will be extended to all of Auckland. Photo / Natalie Slade

Some North Shore bus passengers forgetting to "tag off" with new electronic tickets at the end of journeys are risking injury by forcing their way back on board.

Auckland Transport says it has asked NZ Bus to ensure drivers are extra cautious about passengers trying to get back on buses to tag their new Hop cards against machine readers to avoid penalties of $5.04c for not doing so.

It is also offering passengers a six-week "grace" periods in which they each have one chance to call a phone number - 3664HOP - to reinstate credit to their cards after failing to tag off.

That follows reports by drivers to the Auckland Tramways Union of passengers' hands being caught in the rear doors of buses, while trying to stop them shutting, or to force them to reopen.

"They are putting their hands in to stop the doors closing," said union president Gary Froggatt. "Certainly there have been a lot of cases of people forgetting to tag off.

"Rubber tips are supposed to allow the doors to reopen - some do and some don't. That is a potential accident especially if the driver is not aware there are any passengers at the rear of the bus."

East Coast Bays commuter Nancy Dudley said she saw a young woman trying to jump back on to her bus at Sunnynook, after forgetting to tag off, but then falling to the footpath as the vehicle started moving.

Although the driver stopped the bus and found that the woman was unhurt, Ms Dudley said there appeared to be a high risk of injury or even death.

Ms Dudley said that on another trip she saw two women jumping back on board and yelling at the driver as the bus was about to move off.

NZ Bus has failed to return calls from the Herald since it and Auckland Transport launched the Hop card with fellow Infratil subsidiary Snapper Services on its North Star buses on Sunday.

But Auckland Transport spokeswoman Sharon Hunter said the council-controlled organisation had spoken to the bus company, to which it pays hefty public subsidies, "to ask their drivers to be extra mindful of people exiting through the rear door of the bus and then trying to get back on".

"We will also update the message on the myHOP website to remind people to tag off before they exit the bus, and remind people through our Twitter feed and on blog sites."

Ms Hunter confirmed that the penalty for failing to tag off at the end of trip was $5.04c, which is same as the discount fare offered to Hop card holders for a four-stage ride.

The new system, which is costing $98 million to introduce throughout the region, allows passengers to use their cards to tag on the beginning of journeys without interacting with drivers.

But they also need to tag off at the end, so machines can record how far they have travelled and deduct stored funds.

Mr Froggatt supported the idea of introducing the system in stages - beginning with North Shore services before being extended to buses elsewhere in Auckland from May 22 - to tackle teething issues.

The rollout has been complicated by the use of some North Star buses on Auckland isthmus routes, such as to Westmere and Onehunga, leading to arguments between drivers and passengers who have yet to swap Go Rider cards for the new Hop cards.

But Snapper Services - which is installing machines on NZ Bus vehicles before the scheme is extended to other companies and transport modes under a contract between Auckland Transport and French electronics giant Thales - appears to have ironed out a computer glitch which delayed showing passenger credit balances on a dedicated website.

HOPPING ON BOARD
Timetable for the new cards:
* May 8 - North Star buses.
* May 22 - Go West and Waka Pacific buses.
* June 6 - Link and Metrolink buses.
* Late 2011 - trains and Devonport ferries.
* 2012 - all other public buses and ferries.

ON THE WEB
www.myhop.co.nz