17 July 2023
File Ref: OIAPR-1274023063-3536
Delia Mason
By email: [FYI request #23002 email]
Tēnā koe Delia
Request for information 2023-160
I refer to your request for information dated 16 June 2023 which was received by Greater Wel ington
Regional Council (Greater Wel ington) on 16 June 2023. You have requested the fol owing:
“How much money have Wel ingtonians using the train service paid in penalty fees for not snapping
off the trains since Snapper was introduced. Please provide the ammounts broken down by train
line/service.
How was the decision of a $10 penalty decided?
Has there been any consideration of reducing the penalty fee while train fares have been reduced to
half price?”
Greater Wellington’s response follows:
How much money have Wel ingtonians using the train service paid in penalty fees for not snapping
off the trains since Snapper was introduced. Please provide the a[m]mounts broken down by train
line/service.
Please note that we refer to the amount charged due to a missed tag off as a ‘Default Fare’ as
opposed to a penalty. This is primarily due to the nature of these fares as outlined under the answer
to your second question.
Snapper supplies records of the Default Fares to Greater Wel ington, however, the data does not
identify whether the Default Fares applied were due to missed tag offs on the bus network or the
rail network. This data caveat is basical y due to the way that Snapper ticketing system charges fares.
In the absence of a tag-off for a trip, Snapper card reverts to a Default Fare and keeps it in the card’s
memory until next tag on. On the next tag on, the Snapper card deducts the Default Fare from the
remaining balance on your card. For example, if a Snapper card holder misses a tag off on bus, and
Wel ington office
Upper Hutt
Masterton office
0800 496 734
PO Box 11646
PO Box 40847
PO Box 41
www.gw.govt.nz
Manners St, Wel ington 6142
1056 Fergusson Drive
Masterton 5840
[email address]
connects to a train service, the Default Fare wil be deducted from the card at the time of tag-on on
the train service. The Snapper data would show the Default Fare against the tag-on transaction
recorded for the train leg of the journey.
Further to the data caveat outlined above, to support rail passengers through the introduction of
Snapper on rail, Metlink also provided a Default Fare amnesty period, up until 30 April 2023, where
the passengers were able to contact Snapper and request to:
1. Ful y reverse the Default Fare for the first time it is requested (per card)
2. Provide a 50% reverse of the Default Fare for the second occurrence on request.
As the Snapper ticketing has no way of knowing where a passenger has travel ed if they do not tag
off, Greater Wel ington is unable to identify the breakdown of Default Fares by rail line.
While it is possible to extract the total amount of Default Fares recorded against rail trips from the
existing Snapper ticketing data, it would take a significant amount of officer time as it would require
review of each transaction in the data set to extract the information requested. The information
would also be incomplete as it would not show any refunds/reversal of payment of the Default Fare.
We would also not be able to provide you the information by train service/line, as we do not hold
information at that level.
Therefore, we are refusing this part of your request under section 17(f) of the Local Government
Official Information and Meetings Act 1987 (the Act) on the basis that the information requested
cannot be made available without substantial col ation or research.
When refusing a request under section 17(f) of the Act we are required to consider whether
consulting you, charging you for the supply of the information, or extending the timeframe to make
a decision on your request would help us meet your request. In this instance, we do not believe that
this would resolve the difficulty in meeting your request.
How was the decision of a $10 penalty decided?
Please refer to Attachment 1 which contains information relating to the decision-making behind the
Default fares and transition to Snapper on Rail.
Please note we have deleted information in this attachment that are outside the scope of your
request.
Page 2 of 3
Has there been any consideration of reducing the penalty fee while train fares have been reduced to
half price?
Snapper on Rail was introduced while half price fares were in place, therefore the Default Fare of
$10 took into consideration the reduced fares. We wil be reviewing the Default Fare policy in light
of the recently announced age-based concessions, and the return to ful price adult fares.
If you have any concerns with the decision(s) referred to in this letter, you have the right to request
an investigation and review by the Ombudsman under section 27(3) of the Local Government Official
Information and Meetings Act 1987.
Please note that it is our policy to proactively release our responses to official information requests
where possible. Our response to your request wil be published shortly on Greater Wel ington’s
website with your personal information removed.
Nāku iti noa, nā
Samantha Gain
Kaiwhakahaere Matua Waka-a-atea | Group Manager Metlink
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