Zonal fares to go live
After four years of integrated ticketing (AT-HOP) Auckland Transport is rolling out integrated fares or simply put Zonal Fares.
From Auckland Transport
Simpler fares from Sunday 14 August
A new simpler fares system starts for all bus and train services (excludes SkyBus services) on Sunday 14 August 2016.
Date: Sunday 14 August 2016
Mode: All bus and trains
We’re introducing a new fare structure with a new map with colour coded fare zones across Auckland. It is easy to work out your cash or AT HOP fare no matter which bus or train you take using the new zone map and fare tables.
New fare zones for buses and trains (excludes SkyBus services) from 14 August 2016
Fares are based on the number of zones you travel through.
Download to view the new fare zones for buses and trains from 14 August 2016 (PDF 843KB).
Zone overlap areas (grey coloured areas on the new fare zones map) at some zone boundaries allow for travelling to the edge of the zone borders without crossing into another zone.
If you are paying with an AT HOP card and travelling within a zone overlap area as part of a journey (this means tagging on and off within the same zone overlap area), this may count as travelling through a new zone.
From 14 August you can refer to the Journey Planner for the correct fare.
Simpler fares using your AT HOP card
With an AT HOP card, you will pay for one entire journey from A to B, instead of paying the fare on each bus or train separately.
During your journey:
- You can use up to 5 buses or trains within 4 hours, just ensure you transfer between each trip within a maximum of 30 minutes.
- Tag on and off each bus and train as you do now and simply count the number of zones you travel through to find out your fare.
AT HOP simpler fares for buses and trains
| ADULT AT HOP FARE | CHILD AND ACCESSIBLE AT HOP FARE* | TERTIARY AT HOP FARE* | |
|---|---|---|---|
| CityLink | $0.50 | $0.30 | $0.40 |
| 1 Zone | $1.80 | $0.99 | $1.28 |
| 2 Zone | $3.10 | $1.73 | $2.31 |
| 3 Zone | $4.90 | $2.72 | $3.59 |
| 4 Zone | $6.00 | $3.46 | $4.52 |
| 5 Zone | $7.50 | $4.45 | $5.80 |
| 6 Zone | $8.80 | $5.10 | $6.70 |
| 7 Zone | $10.10 | $5.60 | $7.50 |
| 8 Zone | $11.20 | $6.00 | $8.20 |
*Child, Accessible and Tertiary AT HOP fares only apply when paying with an AT HOP card with the relevant concession applied.
These fares do not apply to SkyBus services.
Note: If travelling by train between West and South Auckland via the city zone you will not be charged for the city zone if you do not tag on or off in that zone.
New AT HOP child weekend fare
Changes to AT HOP day pass
The current AT HOP day passes are being replaced with a new $18 all zones pass which is valid for travel until midnight on the day of use (excluding SkyBus services).
Find out more about the changes to the AT HOP day pass from Thursday 11 August 2016.
Changes to AT HOP monthly pass
Simpler fares paying by cash
If you pay with cash, use the new fare zones map and fare table below to find the fare of each bus or train you catch.
Cash simpler fares for buses and trains
| ADULT CASH FARE | CHILD AND ACCESSIBLE CASH FARE | |
|---|---|---|
| CityLink | $1.00 | $0.50 |
| 1 Zone | $3.00 | $2.00 |
| 2 Zone | $5.00 | $3.00 |
| 3 Zone | $7.00 | $4.00 |
| 4 Zone | $9.00 | $5.00 |
| 5 Zone | $10.00 | $6.00 |
Last updated 19 July 2016
Information is correct at the time of publishing and subject to change
…….
Source: https://at.govt.nz/bus-train-ferry/service-announcements/simpler-fares-from-sunday-14-august/
The Zones
Excellent to see from Auckland Transport and something similar to what I mocked up four years ago as seen below:
Also in other news to watch Auckland Transport are going through the motions to introduce all day frequent trains (so 10-15 minute frequencies) on the Southern Line. This means you can basically turn up and go without worrying about a timetable. While we do have the rolling stock for this having an extra 20 sets of EMU’s would allow for more 6-car sets to handle the increased patronage.
More on the all day roll out as it gets nearer.
Talking Southern Auckland 
just following up my earlier comment. I found your earlier comments supporting zonal fares, thank you. Unfortunately I don’t understand the case for this change. All it does is replace arbitrary stages with even bigger and more arbitrary zones. This really annoying change substantially increases my travel cost, in return for no general benefit. Why?
I have noticed since the zones were first proposed 4 years ago that there was an equity issue with short public transit trips. The very trips we need to encourage as SOV alternatives cause most of the congestion especially in the off peak.
The Daily pass at $18 is too high and should be replaced by a daily cap of $15 with Sundays being a flat $2.50 for anyone like Sydney.
The zones are a start but the pricing structure is not the best I have seen.
Fully agree thanks; AT said that they benchmarked against other cities and that we were paying less for short hops than other large cities. this is the problem with benchmarking. If everybody is making a mistake, you repeat it. I think that that step was a mistake, that we want to do everything possible to reduce car traffic within the city/isthmus, and this should mean that they should instead make short hops massive cheaper than a SOV. I see that on one route even the small price increase in May lead to a huge loss of patronage. I would have thought that was predictable
The most interesting plan was the never agreed to proposal for a congestion charge for NY; it would have charged cars enough to make buses completely free downtown. On the maths it would have made NY congestion free. even the baby steps in London have helped, although they didn’t have the courage of their convictions.
Back in the here and now, petrol prices have fallen, which won’t be helping. For my “short” commute, the marginal cost of driving is now much less than taking a bus/train. Sigh. There is definitely value in not having to stress with traffic, but no time or money savings. Oh well.
The wonders of AT
Equity was never their strong point
Integrated charging is probably worth it, although any commute with that many changes will be a serious disincentive to use PT. However, the more I look at it, zonal charging looks more and more like a massive penalty for short haul travel. It would cost the same to go from new lynn to britmart as from morningside to mt eden. I really don’t see why penalising shorter trips is good policy?
On top of this, because they have dropped the old single zone monthly pass, in favor of a much more expensive all zones pass, people who use PT in the weekend for short trips across a zone will see a 30 to 40% increase in costs. say 30 days in a month, 60 trips crossing a zone = 310×60=at least 186. 192 for a long month. Since the most you should pay is 200/m for long, multizone travel, this means that short haul is being charged essentially the same as very long commuting. the marginal cost of taking a SOV for short trip, petrol and parking is less than this. Thus, this policy is a substantial disincentive to use PT.
This does not seem like reasonable plan.