Sunday commuting

Commuting on Sundays in Auckland is a challenge, what with a dearth of buses in town, K Road nightlife debris trying to get on the bus, trying to find the right change and trying to stay awake during the trip, it's life as you can see on no other day in town.
But Fullers does a good job with hourly services, and Starflyte even arrived a minute early (8:33:50) so my congratulations. Please don't fine the captain for putting his foot on the accelerator.
No how about a few more boats on Sunday night so a night out in town will be feasible?

Making Fullers run on time

A flyer was handed out to passengers by ferry staff on Wednesday night - always an occasion for apprehension because it usually spells bad news of some kind, either boat breakdowns (Jet Raider gave up the ghost after two weeks during this year's Superflyte survey - surely a record!) or fare increase announcements.

But no, instead it told us of the installation of a new feature on Pier 2: an electronic clock. The aim is to co-ordinate the boat clocks with the wharf clocks so everybody will know what time it is that the ferry leaves. Finally, 160 years after England standardised its timezone due to the arrival of the railway, Auckland ferry time clocks on board and on land will now be GPS controlled. How that will contributes to the sum total happiness of the population remains a mystery, but I can think of one useful feature: it will enable everybody to see, to the second, whether the Fullers publicity claim of 35 minutes to and from Waiheke corresponds with reality.
On Thursday morning I arrived at 8.38.50, which is a 10% delay. Feel free to keep noting down arrival times and mail it to us.
Arrival times are far more relevant to passengers than departure times since onward connections are made or lost by any delays.

Integrated ticketing: creeping closer

From the Auckland Regional Council:

ARC chairman (and Waiheke Islander) Mike Lee heaped praised on the Auckland Regional Transport Authority (ARTA) and the New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) for achieving a break-through on integrated ticketing.
ARTA and NZTA today announced they will work with an experienced French company, Thales, to develop a system for Auckland’s buses, trains and ferries.
Mr Lee called integrated ticketing a “key piece in the public transport jigsaw” which would enable a quantum leap forward for Auckland public transport patronage.
“Seamless movement between trains, buses and ferries using a smartcard ticket will make public transport a much more attractive option for Aucklanders.”
ARTA began the tender process for the ticketing system last year but it was delayed by an NZTA review, instigated in part by a rival tenderer.
“While the delay has been disappointing, the system has now passed rigorous checks with flying colours – especially in terms of national application.”
“Because of this, the technical work carried out by ARTA and the tenderer is now being picked up by NZTA as the basis of a national integrated ticketing programme, which will allow regions throughout the country to share costs,” Mike Lee says.
“This is a great outcome.”
Central and local government are sharing the project costs.
In February, the ARC was looking at a capital investment of $32 million to fund the region’s share of the system, but Mr Lee said the final capital cost to Auckland ratepayers would now be very much reduced.
“Negotiations between the parties are still proceeding, so we are not at liberty to say how large the reduction will be.”
However, the reduction would be “significant”.
“Great news for public transport, great news for Auckland ratepayers.”

National application would be good as there is little to be gained from developing local unlinked systems when transport is integrated nationally.

My idea would be to have a cap on your weekly spend on your public transport needs, say $50, which you would load on your "Orca Card" and swipe with whatever transport company you want and need to use within the Auckland region. The ARTA would then become the card fare collector and distributor of the loot to the transport companies based on the swipes they collect. (An analogy would be Pharmac buying drugs in bulk and thus suppressing the cost to the end consumer). It would be a transparent system, easy to use, would not lock you in for a long period, and thus attract far more customers than currently use public transport.

TV One news coverage

The Supercity Select Committee hearing in Waiheke Island heard from a variety of islanders on a wide variety of subjects from waste to local community empowerment and public transport.
Shirin of the Campaign 4 Fair Ferry Fares spoke on the campaign's behalf:

First, public transport regulation issues:
ARTA – or whatever organisation replaces ARTA should be an independent body reporting to the GAC, rather than a department.

Integrated ticketing needs to be a priority for GAC. This would allow a competitor to compete fairly on the Waiheke to Auckland run. At the moment, the commuters are the lifeline for Fullers. The monthly pass allows unlimited travel on Stagecoach buses and on buses on Waiheke, making it nearly impossible for another company to compete.

We also need an affordability criteria and a look at standardising fares across the Auckland region – It shouldn’t cost as much to go 5 kms on Waiheke as it does to get from Auckland Central to Henderson.
If the Half Moon Bay ferry is $13.40 return, why is a Waiheke ferry $32 return, for the same distance travelled?

Secondly, ownership of the wharves needs to be clarified and a system whereby a competitor can be guaranteed berthage at competitive times.

Thirdly, Waiheke needs an effective transport management plan which recognises Matiatia as a transport hub for islanders getting off the island as well as tourists trying to access the island. Transport plans have been made before but are not followed.
Over the last 20 years people have been asking for a more flexible bus service - smaller buses with better coverage. It shouldn’t take 50 minutes to get from Rocky Bay to Matiatia, before you even start your journey into town.
Also Matiatia is primarily set up for tourists and selling tours.
The local population don’t need a flash terminal – they need a place which is safe and warm to wait, free parking within easy access to the wharf and a system with flexibility for the different users (people with bags, families with young children, cyclists and motorcyclists).
A plan needs to combine the needs of all users but then needs follow through.

Fourthly, we support greater autonomy for decision-making on Waiheke.
The Auckland City Council continually fails to represent us or act in our interest. We would like a local council to have greater decision making powers in terms of infrastructure and transport decisions. They are a cross-section of elected representatives who live within the community and their authority should be respected.
Local councillors and council workers recognise the importance of sustainability because they also live on this island. This carries through in terms of waste, use of water, management of septic waste. The more decision making that can be carried out locally, the better.

TV One News clip:

All in the same boat

The Select Committee hearing submissions the Auckland Council Bill arrived on Waiheke this morning, and I was pleased to see that the eminent MPs were treated to a ride on the Jet Raider. I imagine it was experience far removed from their spacious and comfortable seats in The House, and I hope it has imprinted on them what the conditions the hordes of commuters they encountered on the gang plank are faced with daily.

C4FFF is making a submission in person to the Committee on public transport issues to be faced by the new Auckland Council.

Like the back of a bus

Maxx, the Auckland public transport hub and website, has launched a competition to come up with catchy slogans on why on earth you want to be on the bus instead of the comforts of your own car. It can include your own picture plastered all over the back of a bus if you are one of the winning entries to be published and driven around town.
So it is also a good opportunity to make a little fun of Maxx and the dire state of public transport in Auckland. After all, the overwhelming majority of commuters use their cars instead of the inconvenient buses, creaky trains or expensive ferries.
So get creative and enter some cringe inducing witticisms that should shake the transport regulator's complacency.

Here are mine:
- I pay Fullers $3,780 a year and I still can't get on this bus.
- One ticket to go on train, bus and ferry. Old people can, why can't everybody else?

Those dark, dark days

Winter is upon us. You reflect while you are shivering on Pier 2, dark, windy and wet. Nothing much changes year to year in ferry transport, really. The old shelter sheds have been replaced by a cavernous, sails-inspired structure that protects nobody against the stiff northeasterly wind or driving westerly rain. To save on power only half the lights are turned on, which makes it too dark to read, even if your paper doesn't blow away. And you are not allowed to sit anywhere on the steely cold benches. No: for over a year there have been "structural improvements" going on on Pier 2 (I'm not talking the addition of a forlorn Esquire cafe hut). The amount of time it is taking to strengthen Pier 2 is not imbibing me with confidence on how long it will take to get Queen's Wharf up to scratch for the rugby party animals in 2011.

And since it is that darkest period of year again, Fullers is treating us with daily rides over the coming weeks on everybody's favourite boat, the Jet Raider. The "Superflyte on survey" is an annual event to show its customers who really is boss, and if you dare to murmur criticism of inappropriate timing, daily lateness and uncomfortable rides in the said nor'easter, there is always the threat of a fare increase.
Happy commuting!

Ferry transfer mid-harbour

Cross-posted from CountryMike at Waiheke Radio:

Last night (Thurs 25 June) the 8.45pm Auckland to Waiheke ferry suffered a breakdown that resulted in pasengers being transferred mid-harbour to another ferry. The following is an eyewitness report from one of the ferry passengers.
"It was a normal 8:45pm sailing and I headed upstairs on the Wanderer. Shortly after departure I popped down to the bar for the obligatory Merlot, Without warning I felt myself falling backwards as the boat suddenly lost all power. A cruise ship had just departed Auckland so I assumed we had slowed down to let it pass.
You think something is wrong when the men with the stripes on their shoulders start running backwards and forwards, you know something is wrong when all the lights go out.
So there we were, just off the container wharf, drifting powerless and lightless toward the shipping lane and the path of the departing cruise liner...
I went back to my merlot, placed a few tweats on a rapidly flattening phone, observed other commuters texting and ringing loved ones, watched the cruise ship sail past; more men with stripes running backward and forward, now with torches, “shall I try restarting the genset?”, lights come on, drop anchor.
The Seaflyte returning from Half Moon Bay pulled alongside, we transferred via the wheelhouse and on our way back to Waiheke.
To the Fullers staff and crew: a big thumbs up for a well executed mid harbour manoeuvre in unusual circumstances and cheers for the free beer".

Nikky Kaye MP to present C4FFF Accountability Petition to Parliament (updated)

This Monday 29 June, Campaign for Fare Ferry Fares (C4FFF) will be presenting Auckland Central MP Nikki Kaye with a petition signed by more than 500 people, calling for accountability on the Matiatia to Auckland ferry route that is currently operated by Fullers (Souter Holdings).
Nikki Kaye will be meeting with C4FFF on Monday and has agreed to present the petition to parliament on behalf of her constituents, as part of the discussion on the Public Transport Management Act.
The petition, now signed by more than 1000 people, calls for a mechanism of accountability so that fares cannot be raised without consultation with the governing transport authority, and for regulation or fair competition on the Matiatia to Auckland route.
C4FFF spokesperson Dr Cathy Urquhart says with the review of the Transport Management Act looming, this is a key moment to request regulation or accountability of some kind before more residents are forced to leave the island.
‘Our long term future is at stake each time diesel goes up. Our economy is deeply affected by who can afford to commute and live here, and who can afford to visit. Should the future of our ferry link to the CBD be in the hands of an unaccountable monopoly? No! Let’s get some accountability into the equation, before our Waiheke community loses the diversity we treasure so much.’

C4FFF members will also travel in person to Wellington to talk to members of the Transport and Industrial Relations Select Committee when the Public Transport Management Act goes under discussion later this year – presenting the petition on behalf of the signatories gives them this opportunity to speak.

Red hot deals

Amazing how precarious island life is when one of its key infrastructure elements is taken out of action for a length of time. Last Saturday night the Woolworths supermarket suffered fire damage to the extent that the supermarket will be closed for at least 2 to 3 weeks and will not be fully operational, like, probably ever or before a new one is built in Ostend in about 2 years' time.
It is of course hardly a civil defence emergency, and various other market players have stepped up to fill the market demand for shopping services, including Woolworths itself, which is for the first time offering online shopping to Waiheke (the island being the only area in New Zealand deprived from such service before - you could get your groceries delivered to Stewart Island but not Waiheke). The other online shop, FoodDirect, is island-run.

The transport companies are doing their bit too, with Sealink's fortuitous June $50 open return offer (unrelated to the fire) now extended for July too.
Fullers is doing a shopper's fare too (a reduced fare return for the 10am to 3pm sailings, with a free shuttle to the supermarket thrown in). I can't actually find that deal on the Fullers website but it's mentioned in a NZ Herald report. It is also unclear whether this shoppper's fare will be retained now that the supermarket has reopened.

Amazing what competition can achieve.

UPDATE: Now that the Woolworths supermarket has partially reopened the internet service has been cancelled by Woolworths.