Bus prices in Auckland, what are the options?

Asrafrate: Question for people who take the bus in Auckland. I'm moving to Te Atatu Peninsula and can't believe how much it will cost for a monthly pass. Either $215 for an All Zone pass (because I'm going from West to the City - it's not that far!) or $201 if I used the HOP card. Minor saving but still...

Are there any cheaper payment options? I'm travelling to the city and back for work, 5 days a week sort of thing.

Also, for something recently released and touted to revolutionise transport, I can ONLY top up my card by going to a physical location. No online top up. I'm so used to doing things online e.g. power, internets and mobile so this is just a bit odd (and inconvenient.)

Maybe the lady I spoke with from Maxx was wrong? Maybe this page is wrong?
http://www.myhop.co.nz/About-HOP/Pages/3-Steps-To-Using-HOP.aspx

Oh, and lets not forget that next year I'd need to replace the card with the AT card... rar! :(

Anyway, just want to cover all my bases and get second, third etc opinions before I decide which way to go. Either way it'll still be better than paying for parking, paying for petrol and getting stuck in evening rush hour traffic.

The lady wasn't wrong, you're just looking at the wrong info. There's two cards called HOP. The info for the HOP card she described is at http://www.athop.co.nz not http://www.myhop.co.nz. A "HOP" card is only usable on NZ Bus branded buses (Go West, Metrolink, Link, North Star and Waka Pacific) while an "AT HOP" card is only usable on trains and ferries. Ritches and Northern Express buses require a Ritchies Fast Pass, Birkenhead Transport another pass, H&E another again and so on.

Looks like you're literally just outside the boundary for a NZ Bus A-Zone pass (ends at Patiki). If you can find a Ritchies bus leaving near you, you can get a Ritchies A-Zone instead, which covers all Ritchies buses except the North Shore ones, and would get you to work no problem - that's $170.

If you're going to be a relatively heavy public transport user, just pay the extra $35 and get a monthly Discovery Pass. $250 and for the entire month you can use any bus, train, or inner harbour ferry in Auckland.

Edit: forgot to add you could also take a look at http://www.letscarpool.govt.nz/ - there might be someone from a workplace near you that's offering a ride, or your workplace may also have signed up.

Asrafrate

Kyanar