Fed Up With National Ticketing Delays, Wellington Forced to Go It Alone

The New Zealand Taxpayers' Union is again slamming the long-delayed National Ticketing System (NTS) after Greater Wellington Regional Council announced it will introduce its own contactless payment system rather than continue waiting for the stalled national rollout.

Taxpayers' Union Investigations Coordinator, Rhys Hurley, said:

"For once, Wellington's got it right, and their obvious solution to use contactless payments is only costing $5.5 million. That's 256 times less than the Government's $1.4 billion disaster scheme is set to cost."

"It's obvious why the capital region has chosen to go their own way. What's not so clear is why the Government hasn't thrown in the towel on the National Ticketing System yet as well."

"The New Zealand Transport Agency has failed to deliver on this promise for 16 years. Will it be another 16 before the project is finally scaled back or scrapped altogether?"