Seamless ticket drive speeds up

Campaigning has begun for a "seamless" ticket to ride on all forms of Auckland public transport, as details emerge of a scheme starting soon on the North Shore.

The lobby group Campaign for Better Transport used Newmarket railway station as its launch-pad for a single integrated ticket, before supporters embarked on an 90-minute "unintegrated" journey by train, ferry and bus to Takapuna.

Campaign spokesman Cam Pitches said the trip was shorter than feared, as connections between services turned out to be fairly efficient, but a cost of $8.90 for each passenger would be a big turn-off for many potential public transport users.

It compared with a maximum daily charge of $3 in Christchurch to travel anywhere within the metropolitan limits or to Lyttelton on any of the city's three bus companies, or just $1.50 for up to two hours of unlimited passage.

Auckland's bus, ferry and rail operators already share integrated tickets, but that is only a $12 tourist-oriented day pass or a monthly deal for $199.

Mr Pitches said integrated ticketing was desperately overdue, but there was almost nothing to show for more than a decade of talk by politicians.

"There is no way Auckland can hope for a world-class public transport system unless people can purchase a reasonably priced ticket that will give them access to all services and allow them to transfer from one to another with ease," he said.

The chief executive of the new Auckland Regional Transport Authority, Alan Thompson, said his organisation shared the campaigners' urgency.

He assured them help was on its way.

Mr Thompson disclosed to the Herald plans to introduce an integrated ticket on North Shore bus and ferry fleets in July, and said he hoped seamless travel would be available throughout the Auckland region in two years.

The North Shore scheme, which will also be available for travel to central Auckland, is due to start at the same time as a major expansion of bus services provided by three firms contracted to the transport authority.

Peak-time services will be expanded by up to 40 per cent by the end of the year, to take advantage of the first two new bus stations being built at Albany and Constellation Drive as part of the proposed $290 million Northern Busway.

The Stagecoach company, which will run half the services, already offers a single ticket for passengers to transfer to ferries run by its maritime subsidiary, Fullers Auckland.

But the new ticket, which will begin as a paper document until agreement can be reached on shared machine-reading technology, will also be accepted by the Birkenhead and Ritchies bus companies.