NZTA drops ‘Uber on steroids’ app plan
The NZ Transport Agency has quietly ditched plans for a national transport app described as the equivalent of ‘‘Uber on steroids.’’
Two multi-lingual apps giving travellers transport options ranging from buses and taxis to helicopters were withdrawn late last year after trials in Queenstown and Auckland.
They were part of a hi-tech 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 by then-Transport Minister Simon Bridges, followed by RideMate which provided information on private and public transport to and from Auckland airport.
The original goal was for users to plan, book, and pay for their journeys, tracking the location of their bus or train in real time, 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 poor cyber security left it vulnerable to IP theft.
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’’ prior to funding being approved.
In response to questions from Stuff, 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 from providing apps, to developing a data platform for use by private developers, councils, and NZTA transport operations centres. He said there had been 25,000 downloads during the trial and the app 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 remains 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 to using public transport and ridesharing to get around.
‘‘It’s going to be a serious thing, so much so that it’s going to materially affect motor vehicle dealerships and how transport is provided and used in urban areas.’’
Senior transportation engineer and planner Glen Koorey has researched MaaS apps internationally.
He concluded that in New Zealand it was probably best for central or local government to keep out of app development.
‘‘Software development is a complex business and not one that government is typically best placed to lead and maintain.’’
He said private transport operators may not be reluctant to share relevant service data and it was difficult for public agencies to ensure data was up to date.
Government agencies could instead encourage app development by providing public transport data, investigating common transport booking and payment systems, and helping fund independent app providers so they could offer a wide range of transport options.