Kiosks are improved

It is out with the old and in with the new for electronic ticketing company Snapper.

The company, which provides discount cards for bus users in the Wellington region and in Whangarei, has ditched its eight top-up kiosks in the capital and replaced them with 14 improved ones.

Chief executive Miki Szikszai said while the old machines had top-up and balance check functions, the new machines were also capable of transferring balances from lost cards to new ones.

They were also easier to use and remembered previous top-up selections.

Most people topped up their balances using smartphone apps, online or in retail stores, and had called for kiosks across the city as another way of topping up.

‘‘What a lot of people were telling us is they wanted these self-service type devices in other places around town like the library and the university,’’ Szikszai said.

‘‘We used to have a device, it was a pretty basic kind of thing, and we thought it was a good opportunity to give it a good refresh and use it both for the local market and also for some of our offshore customers as well.’’

The kiosks were designed by Miramar-based company Human Dynamo, and have been set up at places including Victoria University, the Wellington i-Site, ASB Sports Centre and Queensgate Shopping Centre in Lower Hutt.

Snapper cards can be used on all Go Wellington, Runciman and Valley Flyer buses, and on CityLink buses in Whangarei.