Mike Lee's vision for the future of Fullers

Outgoing ARC Chairman Mike Lee is running for the Waitemata Council seat on the new Auckland Council. He has outlined his vision for the future of Fullers on his campaign blog:

Another concern which the island should be debating is our ferry services. Despite relatively high fares the island has had in general pretty good service from Fullers, the company founded by the visionary George Hudson in the 1980s. However with the long periods out of service of the QuickCat, SuperFlyte, the realisation is dawning that along with the Jet Raider these vessels are now past the expected economic life of a ship. And given that the recent owners’ (Infratil and now Scotland-based Brian Souter) main objective has been to extract as much profit from the Waiheke run as possible, there are no signs of interest in investing the significant amount of money needed to buy new ferries to cater for Waiheke’s needs for the next 20 years or so.

This should be a major concern for Waihekeans. We have some choices. We could lobby the Auckland Council and request that the new Auckland Transport Agency buys out Mr Souter and takes over Fullers. Or failing that we should think about as a community buying a new vessel ourselves. The new vessel or vessels could be owned by a Waiheke residents’ Trust and could even be run by a management company in turn also owned by such a trust. Or we could get Fullers to operate under a management agreement. I would also like the Rakino service currently run on a limited basis by Pine Harbour Ferries for a very handsome ARTA subsidy to be run as a regular twice a day feeder service to Matiatia and be run by a Waiheke or Rakino-based business.
I am open to ideas and would like Waiheke residents to think seriously about this issue.

Worth your vote, I reckon!

Another turn of the screw

As expected, Fullers will put up fares from October 1 and is using the Government-mandated GST rise of 2.2% to rack up its fares by 4.7% (for commuters and 40-ride tickets) just because it can, so it does and will do again.
The new fare structure is here.
It's not as if Fullers is short of cash: 2010 has been a bumper year for passenger numbers and it got a $2 million subsidy in Super Gold Cards for which it had to put on no extra sailings or staff. (And over $1.5 million is being paid by Waiheke passengers in wharf taxes going to Auckland City but paying for all the wharves in the region)
Again we are being gouged after several years of increasing fares more rapidly than the CPI, without any accountability or redress in line with its monopolistic position in the market and a feeble regulatory regime. It again is a stark reminder of why we are here and we cannot afford to go away or lie down.

UPDATE 23 September: So far I cannot find on Fullers website any planned changes in fares on Fullers ferry routes other than the Waiheke one. A vindication of a tendered contract perhaps that doesn't allow at-will price hikes on subsidised routes? It would reflect the urgency of taking the Waiheke route into public ownership for the good of all Aucklanders, not just Waihekeans.
Pity the poor students being whacked by a 11.1% in their 10-ride tertiary ticket. But at least their dogs will now ride for free.

UPDATE 24 September: A commenter pointed to Sea Link (the freight and car ferry company) upping its fares too. Return tickets go from $30 to $32 (up 6.6%) and monthly passes from $275 to $290 (up 5.45%). Waiheke Shipping, its rival company on the Half Moon Bay run, is keeping its passenger fares as they were before 1 October.
On the mainland, Maxx has announced a bewildering array of fare changes on buses and trains.
Note that a monthly pass for the Half Moon Bay Fullers ferry service is $95 cheaper than the Waiheke version (for two-thirds the distance travelled - but it is a contracted/tendered/subsidised service)

Fullers now rebranded as Aerofloat

Fullers: We'll Take You There Out.

Easy Transport Auckland

The Campaign for Better Transport, Cycle Action Auckland, Living Streets Aotearoa and Walk Auckland have set up a co-ordinated website covering all aspects of mobility across the new Auckland City: it will quiz the new Council on various projects covering trains, buses, walking, cycling, ferries and cars. You can make suggestions on the projects there and we'll keep an eye on the ferry system proposals.

Fullers selective compensation

There was an interesting letter in the Gulf News this week from a student commuter who was unimpressed with Fullers' gushing apologies and compensation for the commuter hardship experienced last month. It offered a $50 discount on monthly passes for September but forgot to mention in its PR spin that all other tickets and season tickets (including tertiary passes) would be full price as per usual.
No explanation was given by Fullers why only adult monthly passes were discounted. But my guess would be that line of action was basically to shut up FUG members. Divide and rule is still the best tactic for monopolists.
A general fare increase is still on the cards for October, thinly disguised as a Government-mandated GST increase, despite a bumper revenue year (what with the millions in Super Gold Card loot) and cheaper diesel.

Grill the Local Board candidates

Waiheke Radio has created pages to interrogate candidates for this year's Local Board elections. You can leave questions for them to answer, or make even general commentary on their candidacy. Great initiative, so ask them about Waiheke transport!

Twitpic for twits

Another Winter of Discontent

Fullers just texted me stating both Superflyte and Quickcat are out of service for the next three weeks and all commuter runs will be done by JetRaider and Starflyte. With the rather painful addendum to the text: "please note limited capacity".
Oh joy, three weeks of choice between the experience of a real live sheep shipment or a packed sardine!

And if you think it feels like groundhog day on the ferries, it is: year after year the same story of breakdowns, incompetence, under-investment and customer gouging.

18 August update: the 8am sailing from Waiheke on the tiny Starflyte left 15 minutes late and had to leave 25 people on the wharf due to lack of on-board space.
Can we suspect Fullers putting up prices by more than 2.5% in October (for the GST rise) to "manage demand" down by upping fares so no more egg will appear on Fullers' faces?

29 August update: A fellow commuter told me the monthly passes for September are $50 cheaper as "compensation" for the inconvenience caused by the boat outages. Fullers have done this before, 4 years ago, only to be rapidly clawed back by the consequent fare rises. I expect something similar to happen this year: any fare rise higher than the GST increase will give you an indication of how quick it will go back to them.

30 August update: The $50 discount for September is only for people who have an August pass, not any other form of ticket such as worker's weeklies, 10 rides or 40 rides.

15 September update: The 5.30pm Waiheke sailing is delayed by 15mins due to an "unplanned maintenance requirement". Why do those Fullers txts always sound so ominously portending of worse things to come?

Fog alert: NZ isolated, Jet Raider flummoxed

This morning was one of those Wintry days when fog rolls into the Waitemata Harbour almost without warning. Jet Raider, coming from town ready to make the 8am sailing from Waiheke, had forgotten to bring a fog horn and a crew member capable of interpreting radar data, so Fullers sent an alert text notifying it had done a turnaround and gone back to town. The earliest sailing from Waiheke would be 9am, the laconic tannoy at Matiatia announced. Quickcat eventually left at 9.15am. Cue frantic cellphone calls and text messages from over 300 passengers waiting.

Meanwhile, in Wellington the commuting hordes staged some civil disobedience by refusing to pay their train fare when their ride was cancelled. We are far too civilised on Waiheke to storm Fullers offices and demand a refund. That’s why we pay the highest commuter fares in the country.

Integrated ticketing update

From the NZTA:

Moves towards national integrated public transport ticketing have taken a big step forward with the development of a key agreement between the NZ Transport Agency and ticketing system providers.
The agreement paves the way for the creation of a set of national standards for integrated public transport ticketing.
NZ Transport Agency Group Manager of Regional Partnerships and Planning, Dave Brash says a wide range of industry representatives are participating in the development of the ticketing standards.
He says this is ensuring the best possible system for public transport consumers, transport operators, regional councils and the government.
"We can continue to move forward co-operatively to progress the creation of National Standards by the end of the year," says Mr Brash.
"It’s important that we are able to work well with ticketing providers to establish a scheme within the overall national framework which creates a fair and level playing field for all parties," he says.
National operating standards define how the central core of a national system will function as well as how operator equipment such as on-board bus ticketing machines will interact with that system.
"This standards approach will enable us to establish a long-term integrated national system that regions throughout New Zealand can cost-effectively link into," says Mr Brash.
Auckland will be the first region in New Zealand to adopt the national integrated ticketing system and it is anticipated that other regions will follow.
Mr Brash says national integrated ticketing is part of an overall strategy to establish a more efficient and effective public transport system. That is why it is a core part of NZTA’s leadership initiative in public transport.
"It opens the door to contestability on transport ticketing equipment while ensuring the development of a cost-effective, nationally-integrated system."
The new national ticketing standard is being developed by the NZTA in consultation with industry players including transport operators and regional authorities.
Another big advantage of an integrated ticketing system will be the ability to easily collect common format strategic information about public transport usage. This will enable better long term planning and funding, which will result in a more efficient and cost-effective public transport system.
The national standards process is being assisted by Dutch specialists, Collis, who have also been involved with the development of other multi-modal integrated card systems in Europe and Dubai.
Organisations that are participating in the definition of the integrated ticketing standards are ARTA, Bus and Coach Association, Environment Canterbury, Electronic Ticketing Systems, Greater Wellington Regional Council, Init Pty Ltd, KiwiRail, Snapper, Thales, and HTS Group.

You would think that, given the time it has taken to get this idea even this far, it is avant-garde and experimental rocket science.

Just give us the Oyster Cards now! (and a daily/weekly/monthly fare cap for all transport modes in the Auckand Council area)