Hello Aucklander, do you know that Snapper (the red fish) is in town?

Please note this sub-forum does not provide professional finance advice. You should seek advice from a licensed financial advisor.

To post in this sub-forum you must have made 100 posts or have Trust status or have completed our ID Verification.

If investing please consider our affiliate link for new accounts: Sharesies.

Forums › Finance and wealth management › Hello Aucklander, do you know that Snapper (the red fish) is in town?

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5

911 posts

Ultimate Geek

#446143 6-Mar-2011 23:07

I have never been a fan of snapper myself but that is probably because I have lived in places like London that has a system all up and running with all the features.

I never understood why we took on snapper (money probably had something to do with it) as it was so last centery.
EG you need a card reader if you want to top up from home ($10 for card and I think $25 for the reader) or buy the USB dongle version ($40).
They have only just bought in the monthly option in Wellington on the card which has taken at least 3 years to implement and there are very few top up stations around the city that don't cost you 25c to topup.
And since you have to pay to top it up why would you put money on it and go and buy something in a cafe with it?
They had issues with the card readers for ages on the busses where they would not scan the card correctly and you would have to do it up to 5 times until it read it correctly.

My expirence with oyster I could top it up from home with my credit card over the internet, it could be used with both busses and trains (underground and overground).
They had top up stations at most railway stations that could take money or card and Barclays bank also had a credit card with oyster intergrated.
It was already designed to take monthly, weekly and day passes and if you clocked up enough in one day to of bought a day pass they refunded you the cost up to the day pass.

They do offer discounts for using the snapper card on busses so they have that but so did oyster a trip on zone 1 in london cost 4.50 pounds with oyster its 1.50.

I have always asked why did they take on an antiquated system and promise these things for the future when they could of bought a system that already had everything built in and that is why I believe the Auckland intergrated ticket system is not going for snapper and I support them fully.

Thats my review.

Dion

nate

6473 posts

Uber Geek

Retired Mod

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#446145 6-Mar-2011 23:13

Kyanar: Back on topic - saw it, checked the website, saw it can't be used on buses and costs a bomb to purchase the thing in the first place, and you'll still need another one when the council gets off its chuff and sorts out the official integrated ticketing. Basically, the way I see it the launch is, to misuse a verb, a fail.

Lots of mention of launch events of some kind too, but no detail.

You will be able to use it on buses, as a retailer we sell them for $10.

There is the official launch in Auckland very soon...

Kyanar

4089 posts

Uber Geek

ID Verified

Trusted

#446154 7-Mar-2011 00:17

nate:

You will be able to use it on buses, as a retailer we sell them for $10.

There is the official launch in Auckland very soon...

Ah, but can it beat the convenience of my monthly pass? I can walk onto any bus, train, or inner harbour ferry, wave my card at the driver/conductor, and that's it. No pesky "swipe on, swipe off", no reloading, It does, unfortunately, cost $230. But by the looks of it, that's comparable to Wellingtons system.

sbiddle

30853 posts

Uber Geek

Retired Mod

Trusted

Biddle Corp

Lifetime subscriber

#446159 7-Mar-2011 06:11

mckenndk: I have never been a fan of snapper myself but that is probably because I have lived in places like London that has a system all up and running with all the features.

I never understood why we took on snapper (money probably had something to do with it) as it was so last centery.
EG you need a card reader if you want to top up from home ($10 for card and I think $25 for the reader) or buy the USB dongle version ($40).
They have only just bought in the monthly option in Wellington on the card which has taken at least 3 years to implement and there are very few top up stations around the city that don't cost you 25c to topup.
And since you have to pay to top it up why would you put money on it and go and buy something in a cafe with it?
They had issues with the card readers for ages on the busses where they would not scan the card correctly and you would have to do it up to 5 times until it read it correctly.

My expirence with oyster I could top it up from home with my credit card over the internet, it could be used with both busses and trains (underground and overground).
They had top up stations at most railway stations that could take money or card and Barclays bank also had a credit card with oyster intergrated.
It was already designed to take monthly, weekly and day passes and if you clocked up enough in one day to of bought a day pass they refunded you the cost up to the day pass.

They do offer discounts for using the snapper card on busses so they have that but so did oyster a trip on zone 1 in london cost 4.50 pounds with oyster its 1.50.

I have always asked why did they take on an antiquated system and promise these things for the future when they could of bought a system that already had everything built in and that is why I believe the Auckland intergrated ticket system is not going for snapper and I support them fully.

Thats my review.

Dion

Snapper is not an "old" system, it's state of the art technology. What services a company choses to offer on the platform in terms of ticketing is something that is a business decision, and in many ways dictated to by the GWRC who control all ticketing. Snapper can't just go and offer whatever ticketing options they want because GWRC control funding of all transport services.

What Auckland are offering with their Thales solution is no different, and you probably need to look a little more into what is on offer if you believe it's vastly superior. At the end of the day it's using a slightly different card system (which Snapper is compatiblr with since a Thales app will run on the new Snapper JCOP cards) but at the end of the day differences in functionality come down to the back end. The Auckland system will not be used for any micro payments because Transit NZ and Auckland City Countil don't see this as a requirement of an integrated ticketing system.

Topups cost 25c because retailers refused to offer the system without making money. They used to make big $$$ selling tickets previously and large numbers refused to take on Snapper because they considered the 25c margin to be far too low.

Torque

379 posts

Ultimate Geek

#446254 7-Mar-2011 12:46

For the uninitiated, how do Thales come into it / Why can't Auckland use the same setup as Wellington?

sbiddle

30853 posts

Uber Geek

Retired Mod

Trusted

Biddle Corp

Lifetime subscriber

#446297 7-Mar-2011 13:37

Torque: For the uninitiated, how do Thales come into it / Why can't Auckland use the same setup as Wellington?

Because the ARC chose the Thales solution.

mckenndk

911 posts

Ultimate Geek

#446307 7-Mar-2011 13:58

sbiddle:
Torque: For the uninitiated, how do Thales come into it / Why can't Auckland use the same setup as Wellington?

Because the ARC chose the Thales solution.

Who currently uses the Thales system around the world?

Quic Broadband

Move to New Zealand's best fibre broadband service (affiliate link). Free setup code: R587125ERQ6VE. Note that to use Quic Broadband you must be comfortable with configuring your own router.

Disrespective

1926 posts

Uber Geek

#446317 7-Mar-2011 14:47

Snapper is terrible compared with what Christchurch uses (can't recall its name) I'm amazed snapper is even a choice when there are other better options out there.

That's just my 2c of course.

nate

6473 posts

Uber Geek

Retired Mod

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#446319 7-Mar-2011 14:49

mckenndk: Thats my review.

Good to hear your thoughts.

As a retailer, the real draw card is speed at POS. If you have credit on your Snapper card, walk in, buy a takeaway coffee and a muffin, wave your Snapper over our reader and it's paid for instantly, I can get you in and out the door quickly (provided you're ordering something that doesn't make my barista cry

). I've been told the average processing time for EFTPOS is 9 seconds, so Snapper is much faster.

The fees for us are reasonable, and there has to be some sort of compensation for those who purely come in to top up their card.

I'm quite interested in their platform to see what other third-party applications can be developed and integrated onto the card. If I'm able to write a loyalty system which also runs off the same thing, it reduces the paper loyalty cards we currently have, I'll be able to do better reporting, plus offer better incentives to regular customers

/all my 2cents.

nate

6473 posts

Uber Geek

Retired Mod

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#446323 7-Mar-2011 15:05

Disrespective: Snapper is terrible compared with what Christchurch uses (can't recall its name) I'm amazed snapper is even a choice when there are other better options out there.

That's just my 2c of course.

Reasons?

NonprayingMantis

6434 posts

Uber Geek

#446324 7-Mar-2011 15:10

I?ve had a look at the website and tbh don?t really see the point.
I?m a regular bus user so and I already have a Go Rider card which gives me cheaper rides and I can topup at dairys etc, so what?s the point of swapping go Rider for snapper when the concept seems exactly the same. Why spend all the money on Snapper?

If I want a coffee then I?ll just use eftpos. Sure it might take 9 seconds longer to pay, but since a coffee takes longer than that to make it?s no different for me. And with EFTPOS there is no need to preload credit.

robjg63

4099 posts

Uber Geek

Subscriber

#446347 7-Mar-2011 16:19

Provided the card works as claimed on their website (ie when waved close enough to the scanner), then it sounds like an ok idea.

Not sure whether I will use it for casual purposes - but when/if they start using on the buses I will start using it and may then start using it for other things.

$10 is ok to buy - the plain old bus card costs something like $7 and has no smarts at all.

Nothing is impossible for the man who doesn't have to do it himself - A. H. Weiler

cisconz

cisconz
1341 posts

Uber Geek

ID Verified

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#446522 8-Mar-2011 08:24

NonprayingMantis: I?ve had a look at the website and tbh don?t really see the point.
I?m a regular bus user so and I already have a Go Rider card which gives me cheaper rides and I can topup at dairys etc, so what?s the point of swapping go Rider for snapper when the concept seems exactly the same. Why spend all the money on Snapper?

A go rider card only works on NZ Bus.

If I took the bus I would need 2 as I have NZ Bus and Urban Express on the same route at different times in the day.

On top of that, the idea is that it will work on NZ Bus, Urban Express, Howick and Eastern and Ritches, along with the Train's and Ferries.

If I had the choice I would rather take the Train, but that means 3 types of cards at the moment.

Hmmmm

Kyanar

4089 posts

Uber Geek

ID Verified

Trusted

#446539 8-Mar-2011 09:14

cisconz:

If I had the choice I would rather take the Train, but that means 3 types of cards at the moment.

If you're literally using all three transport operators, a Discovery Monthly pass would do the job. Basically, it gives you unlimited usage of all Ritchies, NZ Bus, Howick and Eastern, Urban Express and Birkenhead Transport buses, all trains, and any inner harbour ferries - you just show it to the driver or conductor, and that's it. You don't swipe it, insert it, or anything. It does cost $230 though, but if you're using public transport as your primary way of getting places, that becomes economical very quickly.

NonprayingMantis

6434 posts

Uber Geek

#446551 8-Mar-2011 09:56

cisconz:
NonprayingMantis: I?ve had a look at the website and tbh don?t really see the point.
I?m a regular bus user so and I already have a Go Rider card which gives me cheaper rides and I can topup at dairys etc, so what?s the point of swapping go Rider for snapper when the concept seems exactly the same. Why spend all the money on Snapper?

A go rider card only works on NZ Bus.

If I took the bus I would need 2 as I have NZ Bus and Urban Express on the same route at different times in the day.

On top of that, the idea is that it will work on NZ Bus, Urban Express, Howick and Eastern and Ritches, along with the Train's and Ferries.

If I had the choice I would rather take the Train, but that means 3 types of cards at the moment.

Ah ok. Having only ever taken one bus to work and one back again I never even realised there were differences.

Sounds ok then in that case.

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5