By Gary Hamilton-Irvine
Bee cards will be phased out of the regions for bus and public transport users, with any remaining credit on each card unable to be transferred to the new system.
The new Motu Move cards and the Motu Move payment system will be rolled out nationwide during 2025 and 2026 for public transport users, and take the place of Bee cards.
Currently, there are 10 regions across New Zealand that use Bee cards for public bus services (as well as some train and ferry services) including Hawke’s Bay, Gisborne, Northland, Waikato, Bay of Plenty, Taranaki, Manawatū-Whanganui, Nelson, Otago, and Invercargill.
Over 280,000 Bee cards were used across the country during 2024.
Bee cards generally cost $5 to buy and customers can load credit on to them.
Each region will switch over at different times to Motu Move, at which point Bee cards will no longer work.
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A list of transition dates for each region is expected to be released in the next few weeks.
“There will be no transfer of balances from existing regional cards to Motu Move cards,” a NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi spokesman said.
“Customers will be encouraged to run down their existing card balances as they get closer to implementation in their region.”
Hawke’s Bay Regional Council transport manager Russell Turnbull said the transition was planned for September for Hawke’s Bay’s GoBay bus services.
“We will be in touch with customers closer to the date about how they can make the transition,” Turnbull said.
He said while you cannot transfer credit from Bee cards to Motu Move cards, a refund scheme was “being investigated” for those who register and have credit “over a certain balance amount”.
It is unclear how much that balance will need to be to trigger a potential refund.
In Hawke’s Bay alone, there are 20,865 Bee cards in use with an average stored value of $6.74 each - which equates to a combined value of roughly $140,000.
There is no data available on how much money is stored on Bee cards nationally.
The Bee card website stated refunds “may be granted in instances of financial hardship” during the transition, but “in the first instance we recommend running down the balance on your Bee card”.
Each region will still manage its own fares, timetables, journey planning and transport operators.
Other regions which use other card types for public transport (other than Bee cards) are also planning to switch to Motu Move.
Motu Move is set to become the go-to payment system for public transport across New Zealand including for buses, trains and ferries.
“Having a single national solution provides the country with better technology at a lower cost than we can with the current regional systems,” a blurb on the NZTA website read.
Motu Move will first launch in Canterbury, specifically in Timaru and Temuka, in early 2025 followed by greater Christchurch.
When Motu Move is rolled out in each region, public transport users will be able to use a Motu Move card, a debit or credit card (or device), or a pre-bought ticket - but not cash.
At present, in Hawke’s Bay, for example, bus users can only pay with a Bee card or cash.
