Motu Move
Motu Move is a contactless fare payment system in development as the National Ticketing Solution for New Zealand, a project first proposed in 2007. Contracted to the American company Cubic Transportation Systems, it was first piloted on Route 29 in Christchurch with adult non-concession fares, beginning on 8 December 2024. Following the trial, initial rollout began in Greater Christchurch on 10 November 2025 with the full range of payment options and concessions. By 2027, Motu Move is expected to be available nationwide excluding the Marlborough region. The aim is to achieve a nationally consistent payment system, offering a choice of payment by contactless bank cards, mobile payment methods, pre-bought tickets or a prepaid Motu Move card valid throughout the country.
The National Ticketing Solution was previously known by various names such as Project NEXT, the National Ticketing Programme, the Auckland Integrated Ticketing Scheme and Auckland Integrated Fares System.
History
Background
The desire to achieve a nationwide public transport payment system was first raised in 2007 when it was announced that Snapper was working on a stored-value card for public transport in the Wellington Region, with Wellington and Auckland transport officials in talks about teaming up to work on a system that could be applied nationwide.Wellington: Snapper card
The Snapper card was introduced in Wellington in July 2008 and applied to buses operated under the GO Wellington branding. The company that owned both Snapper and NZ Bus was infrastructure investment company Infratil. The Snapper card was not valid on non-NZ Bus services. From 2021 to late 2022 Snapper was fully rolled out on all railway lines in the Wellington Region, meaning the only form of transport missing integrated ticketing was the Harbour Ferry.Auckland Integrated Ticketing Scheme
The NZ Transport Agency joined the discussions held between Auckland and Wellington officials in 2009. The Transport Agency's board signed off on NZTA joining in October 2009 in the context of the Auckland Regional Transport Authority tendering for an integrated ticketing system for public transport in the Auckland Region named Auckland Integrated Ticketing Scheme ; this was later given the brand name "HOP". The underlying thinking of the Transport Agency was that it would make sense for the development cost to be paid only once, with other regional authorities able to join and use the same technology. The Transport Agency opted to lead the project, provided co-funding, wanted to be in control of the central clearing house system, and stated that it was most interested in getting information out of the system. The Transport Agency's aim was to develop the National Integrated Ticketing Interoperability Standard.ARTA awarded the tender for the Auckland stored-value card to the Thales Group as the French technology on offer was technically superior to what Snapper had offered. The Thales Group offered a technical solution based on the DESFire system, which at the time was the international industry standard for public transport payment systems. Snapper's system used the Java Card OpenPlatform, which is common for payment systems but with slower transaction times, which is an issue for mass payments. Snapper lodged a complaint, later dismissed, questioning the legitimacy of the tender process.
In spite of this, Snapper announced in late-2009 that it would begin rolling out its "comprehensive integrated ticketing" system onto all NZ Bus services. The announcement was made without communication with the Transport Agency or ARTA, the latter of which called the Snapper announcement "premature" citing the development of the Thales system and confirming that all public transport operators in Auckland, including NZ Bus, would be required to participate.
Replacing ARTA in 2010, Auckland Transport announced it had invited Snapper to work with the council-controlled organisation and Thales on the ticketing system. Infratil went ahead and fitted out its NZ Bus fleet in Auckland with hardware that could read their Snapper card, on the condition that Snapper would adjust its system so that it could interact with the Thales components, this was sanctioned by NZTA staff. Snapper, based on its system already in use in Wellington, could roll out the system more quickly and the aim was to be operational on the entire NZ Bus fleet for the Rugby World Cup to be held in New Zealand from 9 September 2011.
In April 2011, Auckland Transport launched the "HOP card", developed by Snapper, with initial rollout on all NZ Bus services.
In August 2012, Auckland Transport terminated its agreement with Snapper over an ongoing inability to configure their system to work smoothly with the Thales Group system. Snapper said it would sue Auckland Transport as a result.
Labour opposition spokesperson for Housing and Auckland Issues, Phil Twyford, alleged in parliament in November 2012 that there had been political interference, with the Minister of Transport, Steven Joyce, having instructed Transport Agency officials for Snapper to be included in the Auckland project. The Office of the Auditor-General later opened an investigation into the matter.
Auckland Transport then rolled out the AT HOP card from October 2012 until April 2014.
In November 2024, Auckland Transport added the ability to pay for public transport using contactless payment methods. When using contactless payments, a full adult fare is charged, and there is no ability to view detailed transaction history. Auckland Transport says this is the first step towards integrating with the National Ticketing System.
Wellington: Integrated ticketing
The Wellington Regional Council announced in May 2013 that they were investigating an integrated ticketing system for the Wellington region. At the time, they thought that they would be tendering the new system in circa 2016. Transport Agency staff approached the Wellington Regional Council in December 2015, suggesting that they introduce the Hop card system, therefore working towards having a unified system for the country. Part of the Transport Agency's proposal was that its subsidiary, New Zealand Transport Ticketing Limited, be appointed to act as the central clearing house. Under the leadership of Paul Swain, the chair of Wellington Region's transport committee, the Transport Agency's approach was rejected. One generic argument against a single system is that it would create a monopoly, whereas with more than one system there is "healthy" competition. Another argument for rejection was that by then, the technology had moved on, from closed-loop card-based systems to account-based systems. The latter includes the possibility that payments get made via smartphones, debit cards and credit cards, removing the need for users to have a proprietary payment card linked to a public transport provider. At the same time, it was announced that the tender for the Wellington integrated system would now happen by 2018.Regional Consortium: Bee Card
Nine of the smaller regional councils formed the Regional Consortium in 2013, a collaborative working group that could represent their shared interests in public transport matters. These regions are :By late 2013, service level agreements had been put in place for the coming three years in support of the existing ticketing systems; it was thought that this was a sufficient time frame for the National Integrated Ticketing Interoperability Standard to be ready. The smaller regions could subsequently procure systems that integrate with the national ticketing system. The governance group of the Regional Consortium was made up of representatives from the Transport Agency, its subsidiary NZTTL, and executives of seven of the nine regional councils. When NITIS, the critical component for integration into the national ticketing system, was not available on time, the regional councils extended their service level agreements to May 2018. In early 2016, it was agreed between the Regional Consortium, the Transport Agency, and Wellington region that the integration into the national ticketing system would no longer be pursued.
In 2017, the Regional Consortium let a contract to INIT, a German-headquartered company that provides IT solutions for public transport. Their brief is to supply a solution that has been named the Regional Integrated Ticketing System. One "tag on, tag off" stored-value card for all nine regions is to be implemented. It is planned for RITS to be an interim solution for up to five years prior to joining the national ticketing system. RITS is much simpler than the open-loop account-based solution pursued for the national ticketing system.