By Sanele Chadwick
Auckland's new cashless payment system for trains was put through its paces this morning.
The new AT HOP card had its first run in peak-hour traffic.
Hundreds of people made their way through Auckland's Britomart station this morning using the new card. The system was launched on Saturday, but today was its first weekday.
"Today is the first real operation of the 'peak" and it went really well," says Craig Inger, acting managing director of Veolia.
It's the Auckland Council's latest phase of its integrated ticketing project, and it seemed a winner with passengers.
The company responsible for operating the service says it's where Auckland's transport is heading.
"It gives them the opportunity to hop on a ferry, on a train, or on a bus, so it's all integrated," says Mr Inger. "That's where we're going to be in the future."
Currently you can only use the hop card on the trains, but there are plans to have it fully integrated with the ferries and bus networks by April next year.
That means passengers will be able to pay for those services with one card, saving time, hassle and paper tickets.
"We've got staff at the moment with 30 to 40 tickets on them for different children, adults, people on gold cards," says Mr Inger.
Gates will be policed by revenue protection officers whose job is to ensure people use the system correctly.
Auckland Transport CEO David Wrburton says extra staff will help educate the public, but there's always an exception.
"There will always be some abhorrent behaviour, but we can't gear up for the odd situation," says Mr Warburton. "Security is an issue, and safety is of course an important one."
Passengers are still able use their monthly cards until the end of December, but will be forced to jump to the AT HOP system after that.
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