Brian Rudman: After the big spin, Infratil's a loser

I hadn't thought of veteran Auckland public relations man Cedric Allan as the Grand Old Duke of York. Not until he took on his latest campaign to try to persuade Aucklanders that Infratil's Snapper smartcard had won the battle to bring integrated public transport ticketing to the region.

For his sake, I hope he hasn't staked his pension plan on it, because even if he gets 10,000 Aucklanders marching up and down the steps of Infratil's buses waving their Snapper cards, rival French electronic giant Thales has won the fight.

A week ago it signed an $87 million contract with the Auckland Regional Transport Authority, with Government blessing, to provide integrated electronic ticketing for city buses, trains and ferries.

Mr Allan's client, Snapper Services, was part of that tender process and lost the fight. It then challenged the decision legally and politically. Despite these rearguard actions, it still lost.

But like a punch-drunk boxer, Infratil has risen to its knees, pulled out the cellphone and called in Grand Old Cedric to save the day. On the eve of its rival signing the contract, he pumped out a press statement declaring, "Snapper Services Ltd moved today to clear up apparent confusion about emerging competition to introduce electronic ticketing for public transport in Auckland, with the objective of having integrated ticketing on most Auckland public transport by the Rugby World Cup in 2011.

"Snapper chairman Paul Ridley-Smith says the company is very serious about the major Auckland market and has never made any secret about its intention to be a major player, having invested significantly in building its Snapper operation."

I was a brief practitioner of the dark art myself many years ago, so every obfuscation alarm in my brain goes off when I read a press release that promises to "clear up apparent confusion".

The only confusion abroad is that being spread and manufactured by you-know-who. Just the implication that "electronic ticketing" and "integrated ticketing" are one and the same fertilises that confusion.

Put simply, the Snapper card is an electronic swipe card that can be used instead of cash, to buy a bus ticket, a cup of coffee, a ride in a taxi or anything else a Snapper-friendly vendor wants to sell you.

But such a card is just a small part of the integrated ticketing system planned for Auckland.

That system divides Auckland region into public transport fare zones. Once operational, every time you board or leave any mode of public transport, your movement is recorded centrally via the swipe card, and your journey cost calculated and deducted.

However much PR spin Infratil and its sister company, New Zealand Bus, indulge in, they will finally have to face that they lost the battle.

A week ago, while Mr Allan was clearing up the confusion, Snapper chairman and Infratil director Paul Ridley-Smith was adding to it, defiantly telling the Herald, "We're not going to plug into Thales. We have a perfectly functional, 100 per cent effective, totally competent integrated ticketing system so why would you build another one?"

ARTA has answered this challenge, pointing out that under its contract to provide Auckland bus services, NZ Bus is obliged to seek ARTA's approval for any new ticketing equipment. The equipment also needs to comply with NZTA's national standards for integrated ticketing.

ARTA has rubbed the salt in by pointing out that any new ticketing equipment installed by NZ Bus will not be approved if it links to a central Snapper clearing house - even if it links to the Thales system as well.

In a confidential report to Infratil's August board meeting, Mr Ridley-Smith talked of Snapper's desperate behind the scenes campaign to sign up other operators in Auckland "and present its solution as a fait accompli". But he admitted these operators "are reluctant to annoy ARTA and are playing hardball on what they'll pay".

He also pointed out that that "if Snapper can't expand into Auckland then its business will be permanently sub-economic and it may have to withdraw from Wellington, where it was introduced 12 months ago.

He concluded that "the worst case scenario is that NZTA does fund ARTA to sign up with Thales and none of the Auckland operators can join - because ARTA will compel them to join the Thales scheme".

If this "eventuated" - which it has - Infratil "will reassess the situation".

In the meantime, they've rolled out Grand Old Cedric and told him to spin madly.