National Ticketing Solution (NTS) is a public transport payment system in development for New Zealand. It is contracted to American company
Cubic. It is expected to start roll out in the Canterbury region in 2024 and available nationwide by 2026.
It was previously known by various names such as Project NEXT, the National Ticketing Programme (NTP), the Auckland Integrated Ticketing Scheme (AITS) and Auckland Integrated Fares System (AIFS)
prior to that.
The aim is to achieve a nationally consistent payment system, with a choice of payment by cash, phone, credit card, debit card, or a transit card valid for the whole country.
Whilst work at a national level has been undertaken since 2009, work is still ongoing. As of 2022, there are four public transport cards in use in New Zealand which are not interoperable:
AT HOP card in Auckland,
Snapper card
The Snapper card is a contactless electronic ticketing card used to pay for bus fares in Wellington, New Zealand. It was introduced in Wellington in July 2008. Another version – the Snapper HOP card – was introduced to Auckland in 2011 and ...
in Wellington, Bee Card used in nine smaller regional councils, and Metrocard in Christchurch.
History
Background
The desire to achieve a nationwide public transport payment system was first raised in 2007 when it was announced that
Snapper was working on a
stored-value card for
public transport in the Wellington Region, with
Wellington
Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by ...
and
Auckland
Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The most populous urban area in the country and the fifth largest city in Oceania, Auckland has an urban population of about I ...
transport officials in talks about teaming up to work on a system that could be applied nationwide.
Wellington: Snapper card
The
Snapper card
The Snapper card is a contactless electronic ticketing card used to pay for bus fares in Wellington, New Zealand. It was introduced in Wellington in July 2008. Another version – the Snapper HOP card – was introduced to Auckland in 2011 and ...
was introduced in Wellington in July 2008 and applied to buses operated under the
GO Wellington
GO Wellington was the brand name of Wellington City Transport Ltd, the Wellington subsidiary of NZ Bus, in New Zealand. The company was branded ''Stagecoach Wellington'' by its previous owner, the Stagecoach Group. The current name and a new live ...
branding; those buses were owned by
NZ Bus
NZ Bus is New Zealand's largest bus company, operating in Auckland, Tauranga and Wellington. Formerly a subsidiary of Stagecoach Group and later Infratil and Next Capital, it is now owned by Kinetic Group.
History
In October 1992 Stagecoach p ...
.
The company that owned both Snapper (until May 2019) and NZ Bus (until September 2019) is infrastructure investment company
Infratil. The Snapper card was not valid on services not owned by NZ Bus, e.g. Mana bus, the
Wellington Cable Car,
ferries, or the
Metlink trains. In late 2022 Snapper will be fully rolled out on all train lines in the Wellington Region, meaning the only form of transport missing integrated ticketing will be the Harbour Ferry.
Auckland Integrated Ticketing Scheme
The
NZ Transport Agency
Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency (commonly known as Waka Kotahi, and abbreviated as NZTA) is a New Zealand Crown entity tasked with promoting safe and functional transport by land, including the responsibility for driver and vehicle licensing, an ...
joined the discussions held between Auckland and Wellington officials in 2009.
The Transport Agency's board signed off on NZTA joining in October 2009
in the context of the
Auckland Regional Transport Authority
The Auckland Regional Transport Authority (ARTA) was the central co-ordinating agency for transport (especially but not only public transport) in the Auckland Region of New Zealand from 2004 to 2010. In this role, ARTA provided public transport s ...
(ARTA, which was succeeded by
Auckland Transport in November 2010) tendering for an integrated ticketing system for
public transport in the Auckland Region named Auckland Integrated Ticketing Scheme (AITS); this was later given the brand name "HOP". The underlying thinking of the Transport Agency was that it would make sense for the development cost to be paid only once, with other regional authorities able to join and use the same technology. The Transport Agency opted to lead the project, provided co-funding, wanted to be in control of the central clearing house system, and stated that it was most interested in getting information out of the system. The Transport Agency's aim was to develop the National Integrated Ticketing Interoperability Standard (NITIS).
ARTA awarded the tender for the Auckland stored-value card to the
Thales Group
Thales Group () is a French multinational company that designs, develops and manufactures electrical systems as well as devices and equipment for the aerospace, defence, transportation and security sectors. The company is headquartered in Pari ...
as the French technology on offer was technically superior to what Snapper had offered. The Thales Group offered a technical solution based on the
DESFire system, which at the time was the international industry standard for public transport payment systems. Snapper's system used the
Java Card OpenPlatform
{{Infobox OS
, name = Java Card OpenPlatform
, logo =
, screenshot =
, caption =
, developer = IBM, > 2007 NXP
, source_model =
, kernel_type ...
, which is common for payment systems but with slower transaction times, which is an issue for mass payments. Snapper lodged a complaint, later dismissed, questioning the legitimacy of the tender process.
In spite of this, Snapper announced in late-2009 that it would begin rolling out its "comprehensive integrated ticketing" system onto all
NZ Bus
NZ Bus is New Zealand's largest bus company, operating in Auckland, Tauranga and Wellington. Formerly a subsidiary of Stagecoach Group and later Infratil and Next Capital, it is now owned by Kinetic Group.
History
In October 1992 Stagecoach p ...
services (but no other Auckland bus company or service). The announcement was made without communication with the Transport Agency or ARTA, the latter of which called the Snapper announcement "premature" citing the development of the Thales system and confirming that all public transport operators in Auckland, including NZ Bus, would be required to participate.
Replacing ARTA in 2010,
Auckland Transport announced it had invited Snapper to work with the council-controlled organisation and Thales on the ticketing system. Infratil went ahead and fitted out its NZ Bus fleet in Auckland with hardware that could read their Snapper card, on the condition that Snapper would adjust its system so that it could interact with the Thales components, this was sanctioned by NZTA staff. Snapper, based on its system already in use in Wellington, could roll out the system more quickly and the aim was to be operational on the entire NZ Bus fleet for the
Rugby World Cup
The Rugby World Cup is a men's rugby union tournament contested every four years between the top international teams. The tournament is administered by World Rugby, the sport's international governing body. The winners are awarded the Webb ...
to be held in New Zealand from 9 September 2011.
In April 2011, Auckland Transport launched the "HOP card", developed by Snapper, with initial rollout on all NZ Bus services.
In August 2012, Auckland Transport terminated its agreement with Snapper over an ongoing inability to configure their system to work smoothly with the Thales Group system. Snapper said it would sue Auckland Transport as a result.
Labour opposition spokesperson for Housing and Auckland Issues,
Phil Twyford, alleged in
parliament
In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. Th ...
in November 2012 that there had been political interference, with the
Minister of Transport
A ministry of transport or transportation is a ministry responsible for transportation within a country. It usually is administered by the ''minister for transport''. The term is also sometimes applied to the departments or other government a ...
,
Steven Joyce, having instructed Transport Agency officials for Snapper to be included in the Auckland project. The
Office of the Auditor-General later opened an investigation into the matter.
Auckland Transport then rolled out the
AT HOP card from October 2012 (starting with trains and ferries) until April 2014 (finishing with buses). The contract with the Thales Group runs until 2021, with an option to extend it to 2026.
Improvements to the system to enable features like contactless and mobile payments have been stopped as a result of Auckland Transport joining the National Ticketing Programme.
Wellington: Integrated ticketing
The Wellington Regional Council announced in May 2013 that they were investigating an integrated ticketing system for the Wellington region. At the time, they thought that they would be tendering the new system in circa 2016. Transport Agency staff approached the Wellington Regional Council in December 2015, suggesting that they introduce the Hop card system, therefore working towards having a unified system for the country. Part of the Transport Agency's proposal was that its subsidiary, New Zealand Transport Ticketing Limited (NZTTL, established in November 2011
), be appointed to act as the central clearing house. Under the leadership of
Paul Swain, the chair of Wellington Region's transport committee, the Transport Agency's approach was rejected.
One generic argument against a single system is that it would create a monopoly, whereas with more than one system there is "healthy" competition. Another argument for rejection was that by then, the technology had moved on, from closed-loop card-based systems to account-based systems. The latter includes the possibility that payments get made via smartphones, debit cards and credit cards, removing the need for users to have a proprietary payment card linked to a public transport provider. At the same time, it was announced that the tender for the Wellington integrated system would now happen by 2018.
Regional Consortium: Bee Card
Nine of the smaller regional councils formed the Regional Consortium in 2013, a collaborative working group that could represent their shared interests in public transport matters.
These regions are (from north to south):
*
Northland
*
Waikato
Waikato () is a local government region of the upper North Island of New Zealand. It covers the Waikato District, Waipa District, Matamata-Piako District, South Waikato District and Hamilton City, as well as Hauraki, Coromandel Peninsul ...
*
Bay of Plenty
The Bay of Plenty ( mi, Te Moana-a-Toi) is a region of New Zealand, situated around a bight of the same name in the northern coast of the North Island. The bight stretches 260 km from the Coromandel Peninsula in the west to Cape Runaw ...
*
Hawke's Bay
Hawke's Bay ( mi, Te Matau-a-Māui) is a local government region on the east coast of New Zealand's North Island. The region's name derives from Hawke Bay, which was named by Captain James Cook in honour of Admiral Edward Hawke. The region i ...
*
Taranaki
Taranaki is a region in the west of New Zealand's North Island. It is named after its main geographical feature, the stratovolcano of Mount Taranaki, also known as Mount Egmont.
The main centre is the city of New Plymouth. The New Plymouth D ...
*
Manawatū-Whanganui
Manawatū-Whanganui (; spelled Manawatu-Wanganui prior to 2019) is a region in the lower half of the North Island of New Zealand, whose main population centres are the cities of Palmerston North and Whanganui. It is administered by the Manawa ...
*
Nelson
*
Otago
Otago (, ; mi, Ōtākou ) is a region of New Zealand located in the southern half of the South Island administered by the Otago Regional Council. It has an area of approximately , making it the country's second largest local government reg ...
*
Southland
By late 2013, service level agreements had been put in place for the coming three years in support of the existing ticketing systems; it was thought that this was a sufficient time frame for the National Integrated Ticketing Interoperability Standard (NITIS) to be ready. The smaller regions could subsequently procure systems that integrate with the national ticketing system. The governance group of the Regional Consortium was made up of representatives from the Transport Agency, its subsidiary NZTTL, and executives of seven of the nine regional councils. When NITIS, the critical component for integration into the national ticketing system, was not available on time, the regional councils extended their service level agreements to May 2018. In early 2016, it was agreed between the Regional Consortium, the Transport Agency, and Wellington region that the integration into the national ticketing system would no longer be pursued.
In 2017, the Regional Consortium let a contract to INIT, a German-headquartered company that provides IT solutions for public transport. Their brief is to supply a solution that has been named the Regional Integrated Ticketing System (RITS). One "tag on, tag off" stored-value (i.e. closed-loop) card for all nine regions is to be implemented. It is planned for RITS to be an interim solution for up to five years prior to joining the national ticketing system.
RITS is much simpler than the open-loop account-based solution pursued for the national ticketing system.
The payment card for the Regional Consortium has been branded as the "Bee Card". Rollout of the card started:
* on 20 November 2019, with
Whangarei the first city to use the system.
* The second city to receive the card was
Whanganui
Whanganui (; ), also spelled Wanganui, is a city in the Manawatū-Whanganui region of New Zealand. The city is located on the west coast of the North Island at the mouth of the Whanganui River, New Zealand's longest navigable waterway. Whang ...
on 9 December 2019. Other places in the
Manawatū-Whanganui
Manawatū-Whanganui (; spelled Manawatu-Wanganui prior to 2019) is a region in the lower half of the North Island of New Zealand, whose main population centres are the cities of Palmerston North and Whanganui. It is administered by the Manawa ...
region (i.e.
Palmerston North
Palmerston North (; mi, Te Papa-i-Oea, known colloquially as Palmy) is a city in the North Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Manawatū-Whanganui region. Located in the eastern Manawatu Plains, the city is near the north bank of the ...
,
Ashhurst,
Feilding
Feilding ( mi, Aorangi) is a town in the Manawatū District of the North Island of New Zealand. It is located on State Highway 54, 20 kilometres north of Palmerston North. The town is the seat of the Manawatū District Council.
Feilding has ...
,
Levin, and
Marton) switched to the system between December 2019 and July 2020, as it was delayed over teething problems.
*
Invercargill
Invercargill ( , mi, Waihōpai is the southernmost and westernmost city in New Zealand, and one of the southernmost cities in the world. It is the commercial centre of the Southland region. The city lies in the heart of the wide expanse ...
replaced its Bus Smart card with Bee Card on 22 June 2020.
* Waikato switched from
BUSIT to Bee Cards on 1 July 2020.
* Bee Card was introduced to
Katikati,
Kawerau,
Ōmokoroa
Ōmokoroa is a small urban area in the Western Bay of Plenty District of New Zealand. The suburb is considered part of Greater Tauranga (contributing towards its population of ), and is within the Coromandel electorate. Ōmokoroa began as a sm ...
,
Ōpōtiki
Ōpōtiki (; from ''Ōpōtiki-Mai-Tawhiti'') is a small town in the eastern Bay of Plenty in the North Island of New Zealand. It houses the headquarters of the Ōpōtiki District Council and comes under the Bay of Plenty Regional Council.
...
,
Rotorua
Rotorua () is a city in the Bay of Plenty region of New Zealand's North Island. The city lies on the southern shores of Lake Rotorua, from which it takes its name. It is the seat of the Rotorua Lakes District, a territorial authority encomp ...
and
Whakatāne
Whakatāne ( , ) is the seat of the Bay of Plenty region in the North Island of New Zealand, east of Tauranga and north-east of Rotorua, at the mouth of the Whakatāne River. Whakatāne District is the encompassing territorial authority, ...
on 20 July and to
Tauranga
Tauranga () is a coastal city in the Bay of Plenty region and the fifth most populous city of New Zealand, with an urban population of , or roughly 3% of the national population. It was settled by Māori late in the 13th century, colonised by ...
on 27 July 2020.
* Nelson's NBus Card was replaced on 3 August 2020.
* Hawke's Bay changeover date from goBay cards is 24 August 2020.
* The Bee Card replaced the GoCard in
Dunedin
Dunedin ( ; mi, Ōtepoti) is the second-largest city in the South Island of New Zealand (after Christchurch), and the principal city of the Otago region. Its name comes from , the Scottish Gaelic name for Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. Th ...
on 1 September and in
Queenstown on 15 September 2020.
* Taranaki replaced 40-trip multi-passes on 19 October 2020.
* The
Te Huia train service between Auckland and Hamilton uses the Bee Card as of its first service on 6 April 2021.
* The Bee Card replaced the previous GizzyBus smartcard used in
Gisborne (which is the 10th region to do so), as of May 2022.
National Ticketing Programme: GRETS
Based on Greater Wellington's feedback, a working party was convened from 2016 under the project name of National Ticketing Programme,
also known under the acronym GRETS (Greater Wellington, Regional Consortium, Environment Canterbury Ticketing Solution). Parties represented on the steering group were the Transport Agency, its subsidiary NZTTL,
Bay of Plenty
The Bay of Plenty ( mi, Te Moana-a-Toi) is a region of New Zealand, situated around a bight of the same name in the northern coast of the North Island. The bight stretches 260 km from the Coromandel Peninsula in the west to Cape Runaw ...
region,
Canterbury
Canterbury (, ) is a cathedral city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, situated in the heart of the City of Canterbury local government district of Kent, England. It lies on the River Stour.
The Archbishop of Canterbury is the primate of t ...
region, Wellington region,
Otago
Otago (, ; mi, Ōtākou ) is a region of New Zealand located in the southern half of the South Island administered by the Otago Regional Council. It has an area of approximately , making it the country's second largest local government reg ...
region,
Taranaki
Taranaki is a region in the west of New Zealand's North Island. It is named after its main geographical feature, the stratovolcano of Mount Taranaki, also known as Mount Egmont.
The main centre is the city of New Plymouth. The New Plymouth D ...
region, and
Waikato
Waikato () is a local government region of the upper North Island of New Zealand. It covers the Waikato District, Waipa District, Matamata-Piako District, South Waikato District and Hamilton City, as well as Hauraki, Coromandel Peninsul ...
region. The smaller regional councils were there to represent the Regional Consortium.
Wellington Region led the project. Based on Auckland's contract with Thales running until 2021 (with an option to extent to 2026), it was assumed that they would not join the programme and were not included in the economic analysis. The Regional Interim Ticketing Solution (RITS) was endorsed by this group. The system requirement was now account-based ticketing and open-loop payment solutions that would accommodate
EMV-based credit and debit cards (e.g.
Visa and
mastercard) as well as tokens and
digital wallet
A digital wallet, also known as an e-wallet, is an electronic device, online service, or software program that allows one party to make electronic transactions with another party bartering digital currency units for goods and services. This can ...
s (e.g.
Apple Pay
Apple Pay is a mobile payment service by Apple Inc. that allows users to make payments in person, in iOS apps, and on the web. It is supported on these Apple devices: iPhone, Apple Watch, iPad, and Mac. It digitizes and can replace a cred ...
). In October 2017, indicative business cases for two options had been developed (a do-minimum and a GRETS rollout). Procurement was planned to start in late 2017.
Project NEXT
The situation changed when Auckland Transport joined GRETS in early 2018 and in May 2018, this resulted in Project NEXT being formed as a successor to GRETS. The project continued to be led by Wellington Region. The Transport Agency disestablished the governance group and handed its oversight to a newly formed group called the Connected Journey Solutions (CJS) unit.
When the Transport Agency's CEO, Fergus Gammie, resigned and was replaced by interim-CEO Mark Ratcliffe, concerns were raised internally and Ratcliffe commissioned professional services company
Deloitte
Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited (), commonly referred to as Deloitte, is an international professional services network headquartered in London, England. Deloitte is the largest professional services network by revenue and number of professio ...
with undertaking a review of Project NEXT. CJS had already been subject to an earlier and damning audit by Deloitte and the Project NEXT was equally critical. Key criticisms included:
* Transport Agency's focus on the National Ticketing Programme (NTP) appears to have lapsed
* Lack of clear ticketing and public transport objectives
* Governance mechanisms are not fit for purpose
* Lack of business ownership
* The Project does not have the Crown-level review and assurance disciplines as expected by Deloitte
As of late 2019, it was expected that the rollout for Project NEXT would begin with the Wellington commuter rail in 2022, some two years later than previously planned. Also in 2022, the system would be implemented on the Wellington bus fleet, followed in 2023 by implementation on the services provided in the Canterbury region. The nine PTAs that form the Regional Consortium were expected to have joined by 2024. Auckland Transport is expected to adopt the system in 2026 when their current HOP card contract expires.
As of 2020,
Gisborne and
Marlborough districts do not plan to join Project NEXT.
In July 2021, it was announced that the rollout changed, with the Canterbury region to get the card first in late 2022, followed by the Wellington region in late 2022 or early 2023. The programme director stated that timelines may still change, though.
National Ticketing Solution
In October 2022, the system was renamed National Ticketing Solution and a contract with American transport solutions company
Cubic for the development of the new fare card was signed. The rollout was again adjusted, with Canterbury still set to be the first to receive the card, in 2024. As of 2022, Gisborne has decided to join the group while Marlborough is still opting out. It is budgeted to cost $1.3 billion over 15 years; for comparison, the Government Policy Statement on Land Transport 2021 set a funding range of $410 to $630 million for 2022-23 for public transport.
On 21 October, Minister of Transportation
Michael Wood announced that the Government would invest NZ$1.3 billion with merging all bus, train and ferry fare payment systems into the National Ticketing Solution. By this stage,
Waka Kotahi (the New Zealand Transport Agency) and several urban and regional councils had signed contracts with Cubic. The national payment system would be gradually rolled out across the country and would replace all existing municipal and regional payment systems including the Bee Card.
Notes
References
{{Reflist
External links
National Ticketing Solution - Waka Kotahi
Fare collection systems in New Zealand