SuperGold holders will need to buy Hop card

Viviane Drury, 71, with her Super-Gold card that gives her free public transport throughout Auckland. Photo / Supplied

SuperGold cardholders will soon have to fork out for a smartcard such as the Hop card used around Auckland if they want the free travel they are entitled to.

NZ First leader Winston Peters has labelled the change "sly" and "underhand" and has called on seniors to refuse to buy the cards.

However, the Government says the change will help transport planning, and giving smartcards to the 662,000 SuperGold card users was too costly.

Smartcards can be used to access public transport and allow the collection of transport data to help planning.

Under the changes, Aucklanders will need to use the Hop card to access SuperGold card travel from July 1 next year.

Mr Peters said seniors who travelled would be forced to buy a new card in each region that uses a smartcard system.

"The attack on the SuperGold Card has been under way in Auckland for two years with Auckland Transport forcing people to abandon their card and buy a HOP card.

"Tomorrow the cost rises - it will be $10 for the card and $10 for credit, but the credit will never be used because travel is free from 9am."

Paying for a smartcard went against the logic and rationale of the SuperGold scheme, which was to allow seniors to occupy empty seats in off-peak hours, Mr Peters said.

"We suggest SuperGold cardholders fight back and refuse to buy any smartcards for public transport. After all, local government elections are next year and the nationwide elections not long after."

The SuperGold Card is available to all eligible New Zealanders aged 65 years or over, and those under 65 who receive the New Zealand Superannuation or the Veterans Pension.

Cardholders can travel free on public transport between 9am and 3pm and after 6:30pm Monday to Friday, and all day on Saturday and Sunday.

As at May this year, the scheme had more than 662,000 cardholders, and numbers are increasing by about 29,000 a year.

In June, Associate Transport Minister Craig Foss announced the outcome of a review of the scheme, designed to keep entitlements for cardholders but ensure its growing cost could be met.

Between 2009 and 2014 use of the scheme grew from 8.8 million trips a year to more than 11 million. The Ministry of Transport has projected that trips will rise to more than 15 million per year by 2019.

As well as the smartcard requirement, the Government also decided to:

# Lift the moratorium on new services entering the scheme.

# Cap Crown funding for the scheme at $28.129 million a year for the next five years.

# Allow tendering on the Waiheke Island route.

[NZME-NZG-NZC]

-NZH