Single ticket is way to solve transport mess, says French company

SCOTT MACLEOD talks to one of five overseas firms wanting to end Tranz Rail's monopoly.

The French are coming to Auckland - and they reckon they can sort out the city's transport mess, no worries.

The solution, they say, is to set up an integrated system in which people take quick bus or ferry rides to train stations and then whip into town by rail. All you need is a single ticket.

Chiefs at the Paris-based Transdev firm reckon they could have much of the system running in a couple of years.

But first, Auckland must go ahead with its plan to buy railway routes from Tranz Rail and offer them for public transport.

Transdev Australia director Jean-Pierre Soulie was in Auckland last week lobbying political leaders to give his firm a chance.

Mr Soulie states openly that Transdev wants to win the big public transport contract when it becomes available in about seven months. It also wants a slice of Wellington.

"We can specify, plan and design the system to make sure that it is efficient," Mr Soulie said. "Then we can run it and maintain it."

He said the topography of Auckland meant buses and ferries would be crucial to the success of a city transport network. They would operate as "feeders," taking people to the trains.

Therefore, Transdev would probably have to buy an Auckland bus company and possibly some ferries. Talks were already taking place.

But Mr Soulie said one of the biggest keys to success involved psychology. Even the French knew that New Zealanders loved their cars and were prepared to try public transport only once or twice before getting back into their vehicles.

Therefore, it was crucial that Aucklanders enjoyed their new public transport system when they did try it.

One way to do that was to ensure they had to buy only one ticket, which they could use on all the feeder services and trains.

"The key word here is 'seamless' - it must seem that way to the user."

Other factors were frequency of service, efficient design, reliability and marketing.

Unlike the English system, where train and maintenance staff often work for different companies, Mr Soulie envisions an Auckland system where Transdev would be responsible for both. That way, the company would have more control over the quality of railway lines and stations and could be more confident of its services running on time.

That idea is also favoured by the Auckland Regional Council, which sees the same benefit a little differently. The council has said that under such a system the rail operator would have no excuse for its trains being late.

Transdev's chances of moving into Auckland depend on several factors.

First, the region's councils will have to finalise their $112 million deal to gain control of the city's railway lines. Second, the French firm will have to beat at least four other companies for the contract to run passenger trains on the rail tracks.

Among the other firms are European giants Adtranz and Siemens, which have also met Auckland City leaders.

Transdev may have an advantage in that it is already active in Australia. The firm has a 12-year contract to run tram services in Melbourne, where Mr Soulie is based.

Transdev also runs 30 urban networks in Portugal, England and other parts of Europe.

But even if it fails in its Auckland bid, it is pretty determined to win a big contract in Wellington or elsewhere in the country. "We are intent on getting involved here," Mr Soulie said. "And we are in for the long term."

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