Auckland Transport & A Gold Card Impasse

The news that we over 65s are to be issued with a new travel concession card came completely out of the blue as far as I was concerned. Georgina mentioned that emails had been sent out alerting all of us. I didn’t get one and neither did all those computerless souls in the city. However, clearly some people did because a helpful Chinese lady with little English was trying very hard to convey this fact to me the other day when I was in danger of coming to blows with the bus driver. I was in conflict with the driver only because apparently my travel card was now `blocked’. Why? `Probably because you haven’t been tagging off properly,’ the driver advised and then said I should sit down or he would charge me the full fare. Feeling about fourteen years old I sat down beside my new Chinese friend who proudly showed me her new SuperGoldTravelCard. Later, Mary with whom I had coffee that morning showed me hers and said I should apply for one and be sure to take my Super Gold Card with me. I said that I thought I had lost it, the only card I had was orange. The next day I dutifully went to Newmarket Station with my Orange Super Card and my driving license and waited in a queue for seventeen minutes before being told that Auckland Transport could not accept my Orange Super Card and would only accept Gold Cards. I explained that I had looked everywhere for the Gold Card but was unable to find it. The woman at the Help Desk shrugged unhelpfully and said then I should try to get a new one issued. But I was sure it had been superseded by the Orange Card. She did not agree. I went home and searched everywhere for the elusive Gold Card without success. I could almost recall throwing it away when the Orange Card arrived in the mail. The following day I went to Britomart Station and started all over again only to be told exactly the same thing. Before my blocked travel card could be unblocked and I could be issued with the by now much coveted new SuperGoldTravelCard I had first to produce my original Gold Card. I walked home in a very bad mood,not daring to approach a bus, did another search and then rang WINZ who had issued the card. Bridget from WINZ was puzzled and could not understand why Auckland Transport would not accept the Orange Card. It was a valid card she said. She advised me to try a different Transport Centre. Transport Centres are not exactly thick on the ground in Auckland so I went back to Newmarket Station again and joined a different queue where I waited a long time alongside other over 65s with similar problems. There were almost enough of us to start a small support group. We were quite unable to change the mind of the by now more than frustrated staff member with the sign on her jacket that said, `Let Me Help You.’ Under no circumstances was Auckland Transport ever going to accept Orange Cards no matter which Government Agency had first issued them and no we could not speak to her superior - she WAS the superior! We had to produce Gold Cards before we could be helped . So I went home again and rang Auckland Transport to make a complaint. A very nice woman sounded almost as devastated as I was when I told my tale of woe. She agreed that sending elderly citizens all over the city on foot in search of a Centre that would issue a new travel card, was a very bad look. She took all my details and was certainly going to look into the matter. I began to feel slightly mollified at this modicum of success. The fight had entailed a great deal of effort so I poured a large gin and tonic and decided to go to bed early and load reading matter for travel onto my Kindle. As I groped around in the bedside cupboard for the Kindle, an odd thing happened. A slim plastic card slipped through my hand and onto the floor; I had found the Gold Card!