Second Waiheke ferry claims share of funding for pensioner travel

Competition between the Waiheke Island ferries is getting hotter. Photo / Robert Trathen

Competition between the Waiheke Island ferries is getting hotter, with new operator Explore claiming to have won a share of Government funding for free travel for pensioners.

Auckland Transport said it is still involved in a bidding process on behalf of the Ministry of Transport, and could not comment on Explore's success or otherwise until today.

But Explore managing director William Goodfellow, who has been competing with long-time operator Fullers on the Waiheke run for just over a year, says the council body has accepted a tender price to allow his company to receive Government subsidies for carrying SuperGold Card holders from January 1.

That would be a share of an annual capped payment paid previously just to Fullers - a share of $1.6 million out of annual SuperGold Card travel funding of $28.29 million for a scheme used by 662,000 pensioners nationally in the 12 months to May.

Explore has until now been footing the costs for free travel by pensioners holding a special Waiheke Island-based loyalty card, while indicating it could not keep doing so indefinitely.

Mr Goodfellow said the company's success in gaining an undisclosed share of the subsidy would help to even the playing field.

"It's a real win for the SuperGold Card passengers," he said yesterday.

Waiheke Ferry Users' Group chairman Daniel Silva, whose group sent a petition to Parliament in June with about 1800 signatures calling for the subsidy to be spread beyond Fullers, said the move was important to ensure sustainable competition between operators.

Fullers chief executive Doug Hudson said his company accepted the competition as having "grown the market", although spreading the subsidy would mean it would have to pay more to support free travel for pensioners once the annual funding cap was reached.