HOOKING UP TO THE SNAPPER SCHEME
28 April 2008
Tom Pullar-Stricker
Snapper has received a guarded welcome from Greater Wellington regional council, which says it is interested in the Infratil smartcard initiative but questions what might happen if Infratil subsidiary NZ Bus loses its contract to run the city's bus service.
Snapper smartcards, which will store money on a microprocessor, will be available from June and will be used to pay for travel on Wellington buses. They will double as payment cards that can be used where eftpos is accepted.
Infratil hopes to turn Snapper into a nationwide payment system for public transport and small purchases.
Council design and development manager Brian Baxter says Snapper is a great step forward for Wellington transport.
"There are lots of benefits for it. Speedier boarding will have an impact on how quickly buses can get through town and that means we can provide better services with the number of buses we have got."
But he says the council has yet to decide how Snapper might fit in with its goal of establishing an integrated ticketing system for buses, trains and ferries in Wellington.
"We have to make sure the system we have will be forever, and is not just proprietary. If NZ Bus weren't to win a contract, for example, next time we tender, you ask yourself, `what happens then, if somebody else comes in?'
"They might have machines that are compatible with Snapper, in which case there are no problems.
Snapper has its "ideas about trains and the question then becomes whether what they want and what we want are compatible".
Mr Baxter says, where possible, the council will do what it can to work with Snapper. "Our ultimate goal is to make life as easy as we can for passengers and to increase the number of people using public transport."
Infratil's Snapper Services is pitching Snapper as the payment solution for an integrated ticketing system being designed by the Auckland Regional Transport Authority, which is tendering for a contactless smartcard for use on Auckland buses, trains and ferries from September 2010.
"Our planning before Snapper came along was to follow Auckland, use the work that they have done and follow in their path," Mr Baxter says.
He dismisses suggestions that Greater Wellington regional council should complete negotiations with Snapper Services before the results of the Auckland tender are decided - while its hand might be stronger - saying there are "processes to follow".
"We are using public money and we have to make sure we get the best value and that generally means following a tender process. We can't circumvent that.
"We are talking large amounts of money and Land Transport New Zealand has got its own requirements for these systems. If Snapper can give us all those things - great."
Snapper Services general manager Charles Monheim says Snapper is able to adhere to all the principles for an integrated ticketing scheme set out in Greater Wellington regional council's Regional Passenger Transport Plan.
These include providing "equitable access" to Snapper, keeping customer data confidential and letting transport operators put their own branding on its smartcards.
© 2008 Fairfax New Zealand Limited. All Rights Reserved.
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