Peter Glensor, Chair of Greater Wellington’s Economic Wellbeing Committee, which oversees public transport, says negotiations with operators about the fare increases are taking longer than expected.

“Getting to a place where everyone is satisfied with the changes always takes a substantial amount of time but this year discussions are taking longer than we had expected. We’re hoping that negotiations will be completed soon.

“Although we can’t set a specific date yet for the fare increases to take effect, it won’t be 1 October as that’s right in the middle of Rugby World Cup 2011 and to have bus and train fares changing then would be too confusing for the thousands of visitors expected in Wellington.”

Peter Glensor says people who have already bought September monthly rail passes at the higher rate will be refunded.

The proposed fare increase involves a 5% increase to stored value cards, 10-trip tickets and monthly passes for buses and trains. There are also changes to some special Johnsonville train fares and cash fares for zones 10-14 (between Wellington and Waikanae and Wairarapa).

There will be no changes to all other fares set by Greater Wellington.

Peter Glensor says the increase will generate an increase of about 3% in overall revenue. “Like the cost of everything else, the cost of running public transport is increasing so fares need to be increased to meet those costs.”

City.Mobi

Also in New Zealand today, City.Mobi is celebrating the success of its new guide to Wellington.

City.Mobi offers the most comprehensive mobile travel guides available, with over 800 cities in 200 countries listed. Each is developed by the City.Mobi team to combine into a single global travel directory.

However, each city retains its own mobile identity via a dedicated domain. Already on offer are Brussels.Mobi, Paris.Mobi, Sanfrancisco.Mobi and Sydney.Mobi.

Wellington.mobi is the latest in this illustrious line up, offering click to call functionality – which means no scribbling down telephone numbers.

Most entries are also linked to websites where users can quickly access more detailed information if needed.

Other key features include information on accommodation, restaurants, attractions, entertainment, nightlife, shopping, and transport.

City.Mobi guides include user reviews and traveller utilities such as a translation guide, currency converter, news and local weather guide.