Go Wellington today confirmed it is piloting new ticketing machines.
“We have for sometime, been searching for an innovative ticketing solution to make bus travel quicker, easier and simpler for our customers. ”says Bruce Emson, CEO of NZ Bus.
The new ticketing machines were introduced on Friday April 4th and are being piloted on Route 17 over the next two months.
“We are currently recruiting customers who travel regularly along that route to pay their bus fare in a different way, by using a contactless stored value payment card, Snapper. We want to trial the technology and talk to customers about how it enhanced their bus experience.” says Mr Emson.
The supplier of the technology is Korea Smart Card. Established in 2003, they were a joint venture between Seoul Metropolitan Govt and LG Group who introduced T-money to six major cities in Korea. Today the system undertakes 26 million transactions a day, and operates on over 20,000 buses, 6000 subway stations, taxi’s and 8800 retail outlets.
“As New Zealand’s leading public transport provider, it is a pleasure to be able to provide innovation to the industry. Integrated ticketing solutions are a feature of public transport systems in major cities around the world.” says Mr Emson “Our overriding objective is to find ways to make bus travel easier and more convenient for our customers. This is the first step in our programme to do so.”