Wellington's former paper ticketing system is being preserved after Snapper cards were launched on the train network in 2022. Photo / Greater Wellington Regional Council
Wellington's former paper ticketing system is being preserved after Snapper cards were launched on the train network in 2022. Photo / Greater Wellington Regional Council
Wellington can’t quite let go of the “archaic” paper ticketing system it used on the train network for 137 years until it was finally replaced last year.
Snapper cards were launched on the network in November, putting an end to paper tickets.
But the antiquated nature of the old system sparked considerable interest from rail historical societies in New Zealand and overseas, according to Greater Wellington Regional Council.
Items such as the paper tickets themselves, clippers, onboard equipment, and ticketing cabinetry have all been identified as having heritage value.
Some of the items have been given to Archives New Zealand and the rest to the New Zealand Railway and Locomotive Society (NZRLS).
The society will liaise with other transport heritage groups to disperse the items for use in their exhibitions and archives.
Ticketing cabinetry has also been saved. Photo / Greater Wellington Regional Council
NZRLS director Bill Prebble wrote a letter to the council expressing his gratitude for the opportunity to preserve the tickets and equipment.
He said Edmondson railway tickets were invented in the 1840s and adopted globally, with New Zealand also using them on its growing national passenger network.
“For Wellington, this occurred in April 1874 when the first Edmondson tickets would have been issued for opening of the Hutt line.”
The launch of Snapper on Wellington’s train network was such a momentous occasion, even then Transport Minister Michael Wood attended.
“When I talk to people about New Zealand’s public transport system, people have still sometimes expressed some disbelief to me that we still do paper tickets on a critical part of our public transport system in our nation’s capital,” he said at the time.
Regional council chairman Daran Ponter said people who have used the train network for a long time had an affinity for paper tickets.
“It would be a shame for a cleaner to come along and basically just bin everything when it could be saved.”
Ponter said there had been no real hiccups with the introduction of Snapper cards, although one resident did email him recently to complain about being charged extra money because they had forgotten to tag off.
“It’s just that behaviour that people need to get used to. When they had a paper ticket and once it had been clipped, that was it. For the rest of the journey you just held the ticket in your pocket.
“In this instance, you have to tag on and tag off and some people forget to do that. One or two penalties along the way will assist them to think about it.”
Georgina Campbell is a Wellington-based reporter who has a particular interest in local government, transport, and seismic issues. She joined the Herald in 2019 after working as a broadcast journalist.
