NZTA drops ‘Uber on steroids’ plan

The NZ Transport Agency has ditched plans for a national transport app described as the equivalent of ‘‘Uber on steroids.’’

Two multi-lingual apps giving transport options ranging from buses to helicopters were withdrawn late last year after trials in Queenstown and Auckland. They were part of a Mobilityos project, stage one of which had cost $5.5 million when it ended in December, almost $500,000 over budget.

NZTA documents show the project also contributed to spending on software licensing fees doubling to $7m over five years.

The Choice app was launched in Queenstown two years ago by then-transport Minister Simon Bridges, followed by Ridemate, which provided information on private and public transport to and from Auckland airport. The goal was for users to plan, book, and pay for journeys, with realtime tracking, a system known as mobility as a service (Maas), but the payment function never eventuated.

The app development was overseen by the agency’s Connected Journey’s team, recently the subject of an audit report by Deloitte, which criticised its lax financial management and said it had poor cyber security.

Deloitte said the business case justification for the Maas apps appeared to be ‘‘much less than would typically be required for a substantial technology project,’’ and the concept did not appear to have been ‘‘rigorously tested’’ before funding was approved.

NZTA said a new version of the Choice app was being developed with the Otago Regional Council and is scheduled for release later in the year.

NZTA general manager operations Charles Ronaldson said it had moved away from providing its own apps, to developing a data platform for use by private developers, councils, and NZTA transport operations centres.

He said the 25,000 downloads of the app during the trial provided valuable information for stage two of Mobilityos, which would cost $19.5m and is due for completion in 2021.

David Vinsen chairs Intelligent Transport Systems of New Zealand, a government and industry group set up to ensure the country is up to date with transport technology developments.

He described Maas as ‘‘Uber on steroids’’ and believes it has a future here as more people move away from vehicle ownership.

The concept did not appear to have been ‘rigorously tested’ before funding was approved.