Thousands of people travelling on Auckland's public transport are about to find their electronic payment HOP cards have run out of gas, and some may have no warning.
The pre-paid cards allow commuters to take advantage of cheaper fares with a cashless ticketing system.
But the oldest versions of the card are about to time out after ten years and need to be replaced.
Auckland Transport safety manager Stacey van der Putten told Checkpoint some customers would not know their card was about to expire.
Auckland Transport says their payment HOP cards can expire without users having any warning. Photo: RNZ / Cole Eastham-Farrelly
"Ninety percent of the customers with these cards are registered, so they would have had communications from our customer services team that they are going to expire.
"The 10 percent though, they will not know."
She said about 4700 people may not know, and in total about 111,000 cards would expire in the next two years.
To find out when a card expires, people should call the HOP call centre (09 366 4467), or visit a customer service centre.
Stacey van der Putten Photo: RNZ / Rayssa Almeida
But there was another trap for those unaware - anyone who needed a new card and wanted to transfer their existing balance to the new card online would have a 48 hour wait before the changes updated in the system.
It was a delay many public transport users had been vocal about their frustration with.
"We'd love to have that faster", Van der Putten said.
An expiry date for the cards was necessary because of the 'practical life of the cards' - which were expected to last about 3 to 4 years, she said.
The ability to pay for public transport with paywave is expected to be available in Auckland next year: "We're looking at mid-next year ... is our target timeframe".
