Can we use Aucklands hop card in Wellington?

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dacraka

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#100911 20-Apr-2012 21:35

I know you used to be able to use Auckland's hop/snapper card in Wellington, but I was just wondering if that has changed recently?

Cheers : )

SteveON

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#612626 20-Apr-2012 22:09

No. Can you use your NZ money in Canada?

scottjpalmer

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#612628 20-Apr-2012 22:23

SteveON: No. Can you use your NZ money in Canada?

Are you sure of your answer or are you being a smart arse? (My "Wellington" Snapper works fine on the Auckland "Hop" buses.)

If yes, fine, you have answered the OP's question.

If no, butt out and let someone that knows what they are talking about answer.

nigelj

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#612633 20-Apr-2012 22:41

dacraka: I know you used to be able to use Auckland's hop/snapper card in Wellington, but I was just wondering if that has changed recently?

Cheers : )

Pretty sure the current ones (with the Snapper logo) you can, but last I heard they are slated to be replaced when the trains join in on a system, I seem to recall that these won't have the snapper logo, hence no Wellington use. Maybe ask @_HOP on Twitter (if they still monitor that account)

mattwnz

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#612634 20-Apr-2012 22:42

SteveON: No. Can you use your NZ money in Canada?

But you can, you just get it converted at a bank. Auckland and Wellington use the same currency anyway, and wouldn't these cards use NZ dollars?
Personally I am not a fan of proprietary systems that you load money onto, and that includes gift vouchers. The best voucher is the one you get from the reserve bank in the form of a bank note.

Kyanar

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#612639 20-Apr-2012 23:01

Near as I can tell, yes. HOP cards are for all intents and purposes Snapper cards, despite what Auckland Transport would have you believe. The Snapper cards from Wellington work on Auckland buses, and Snapper Feeders from Wellington work to top up HOP cards. I can't see any reason they wouldn't work (though I'd suggest a quick email to Snapper to check - they're pretty friendly folk and respond really fast in my experience).

sbiddle

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#612704 21-Apr-2012 07:25

Kyanar: Near as I can tell, yes. HOP cards are for all intents and purposes Snapper cards, despite what Auckland Transport would have you believe. The Snapper cards from Wellington work on Auckland buses, and Snapper Feeders from Wellington work to top up HOP cards. I can't see any reason they wouldn't work (though I'd suggest a quick email to Snapper to check - they're pretty friendly folk and respond really fast in my experience).

HOP is Snapper at present, but once the Thales system is in place it moves from Snapper's JCOP system to the Thales MiFare DESFire system which means replacing every HOP card.

freitasm

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#612710 21-Apr-2012 07:39

sbiddle: HOP is Snapper at present, but once the Thales system is in place it moves from Snapper's JCOP system to the Thales MiFare DESFire system which means replacing every HOP card.

What a waste. Governments for you.

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Kyanar

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#612716 21-Apr-2012 08:04

freitasm:
sbiddle: HOP is Snapper at present, but once the Thales system is in place it moves from Snapper's JCOP system to the Thales MiFare DESFire system which means replacing every HOP card.

What a waste. Governments for you.

They did actually leave the door open for Snapper to integrate their system into the Snapper backend, but only if Snapper cards can be made to work with the Thales backend and readers. Apparently Snapper cards cannot, and their failure to get it to work is what's currently delaying the Thales pilot.

Part of the reason the council is going Thales (apart from "Transport Agency told them to") is that Auckland Transport doesn't like the fact that with Snapper, Snapper Services holds all the credit and gets the interest from unspent stored value, and AT wants it - it's a fair amount of dosh.

(I wonder if the Thales system will work with any old MiFare 1K card? Or is it a different generation... I have a MiFare device and it'd be interesting to be able to plug in devices I already have to the system).

sbiddle

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#612775 21-Apr-2012 12:09

The problem with the NZTA approach is that it's purely a ticketing solution. They're not really intereted in using cards for payments elsewhere.

In many ways the whole concept of a card solely for transport is an outdated one - why shouldn't I be able to hop of a bus, tag on and off with my Paywave Mastercard, and be charged for that? There are limitations to this such as the inability to store an app on the card that could handle a monthly ticket for example, but the processing of this would simply need to be moved to the backend. If you know my card number when I tag on, you can associate a monthy plan with that card number. The ability to deliver realtime connectivity to buses is a reality so many models based around limited connectivity could be improved.

dacraka

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#614521 24-Apr-2012 19:40

Just to let you know I used my Auckland Hop/Snapper card in Wellington successfully all weekend : )