​Auckland Integrated Fares System  

The Auckland Integrated Fares System (AIFS) project, branded Auckland Transport HOP (AT HOP), is the creation of an integrated smartcard ticketing system that can be used on all modes of Auckland’s public transport system.

Latest updates

AT HOP goes live on ferries

30 November 2012

Following on from the successful launch of AT HOP on trains on 27 October, the first phase of AT HOP for ferries goes live on 30 November. The first ferry service to use AT HOP is the 5.45am service from Auckland to Devonport.

27 October 2012

You must use your AT HOP smartcard or purchase a paper ticket from the Ticket and Top-Up machines to travel on rail. Existing monthly passes and 10-Trip tickets will continue to be accepted until their expiry date, however from 27 October monthly passes will be available on the AT HOP card. You can also top-up your AT HOP card online from 27 October at www.athop.co.nz - make sure to top-up before you travel. 

Left: Hannah Parker of Mt Albert swipes her AT HOP card at Britomart Station.

• Travel on Auckland’s bus, rail and ferry public transport by means of a reusable, prepay smartcard.

• Once fully implemented, there will be no need to buy different tickets for different operators.

• Avoid having to carry cash for travel.

• Get up to 10% discount on full cash fares.

• Travel for free on city LINK.

• If you register your AT HOP card and it’s ever lost or stolen, your balance is protected within 24 hours of it being reported to us.

• Manage and link your AT HOP card and accounts online. Customers can watch their employees' or their children’s travel activity.

• Have multiple convenient locations to top-up, including online. AT HOP cards can also be topped up at retailers, service centres, and Ticket & Top-Up machines located at all rail stations.

• Set up an auto-reload option to manage your travel budget. That means you can set your card to top up when the balance gets down to a certain level, so you'll never run out of credit.

• Benefits for the city and the transport system include more efficient revenue-collection and minimising fraud.

In 2009, Thales was awarded the contract for creating a fully-integrated smartcard system across all of Auckland’s modes of public transport. AT HOP is similar to London’s Oyster system and Hong Kong’s Octopus. It’s benchmarked against some of the best systems in the world.

Auckland Transport signed an agreement with NZ Bus and Snapper for the introduction of the initial HOP card and its use on NZ Bus services in December 2010. Auckland Transport’s approach was to start offering core functions and then to phase in additional functionality.

The HOP card with Snapper functionality was launched in May 2011 and successfully resulted in over 75 000 smartcard usage in a few months.

The AT HOP card was launched in October 2012 for gradual use on trains from 27 October 2012, ferries in November 2012, and buses in 2013. 

Future developments

Civil works in July 2012 saw the installation of electronic gates at Britomart and Newmarket, and ticket readers at ferry wharves, in preparation for the next stage of the rollout. Ticket & Top-Up machines were installed across the rail network as ticket sales prior to boarding were introduced from 10 September.

In the next phase of the rollout, the AT HOP prepay card will be able to be used on rail services from 27 October 2012 and on ferry services later in November. AT HOP will be phased in for use on buses from April 2013.

For a time, there will be two cards in the market, with the HOP Snapper card that is currently used on NZ Bus services and the AT HOP card. The HOP Snapper card will be phased out by Auckland Transport with the final integration of the AT HOP card across Auckland’s public transport system.

Timeline

2009 Thales awarded the contract for creating New Zealand’s first smartcard travel system across all modes of public transport

December 2010 Auckland Transport, Snapper and NZ Bus sign agreement for the HOP card to be used on NZ Bus services

May 2011 The introduction of integrated ticketing using a smartcard co-branded HOP and Snapper. The launch consisted of a phased roll-out on NZ Bus services and resulted in over 75 000 people using the HOP card in the first few months.

September and October 2011 The A-Pass card, launched for the Rugby World Cup, was the first test of the system. It offered customers fully-integrated public transport travel via smartcard or visual pass.

December 2011 A closed pilot was carried out to test some of the future HOP functionality. This was done on NZ bus, rail and ferry services and involved Auckland Transport, Thales, Snapper and selected individuals.

September 2012 Changes to rail tickets start to be implemented – single journey tickets can be bought from Ticket & Top-Up Machines in addition to on board the train and from Veolia ticket offices; and the Discovery Day, Rover, Family passes and 10 Trip tickets can be bought from ticket offices only, not on board.

In addition, the final pilot to test processes and travel experiences will begin.

November 2012 Go-live: Ferry Customers can now travel on ferry by tagging on and off with an AT HOP card. Customers can also use a paper ticket bought from a ferry ticket office.

31 December 2012 Paper tickets no longer sold on board trains. Final day that 10 Trip tickets, paper rail Monthly Pass, Day Rover Pass are valid for use and that the Family Pass is sold.