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The rollout of the national public transport ticketing system in Auckland is budgeted to cost $23 million initially, just to get to a halfway point.
Auckland has leapfrogged Canterbury as the first place to get smartphone or debit card paywave ticketing from later this year, according to a Beehive statement last week.
It said that would be followed with a rollout in Timaru in December 2024, Christchurch in early 2025, and all other regions by the end of 2026.
However, a press release from main contractor US firm Cubic, a day before, said the rollout would begin in Canterbury in December - which was the initial plan.
In June, Canterbury Regional Council acting chairperson Craig Pauling said Timaru was fortunate to be the first region in Aotearoa to launch Motu Move in December - the name of the national ticketing system.
RNZ has sought clarification.
The New Zealand Transport Agency / Waka Kotahi is wearing most of the $1.4 billion cost of the new system over 10 years, but some of the transition costs fall on ratepayers in each region.
Auckland Transport told RNZ the $23m - a budget which is at least a year old, according to a past media report - covers the first stage of enabling its existing systems to process credit card transactions (so-called contactless payments).
"Having this contactless payment capability already in place will make it easier for Auckland to move to the National Ticketing Solution, reducing risk and cost while delivering a seamless transition for customers," it said on Thursday.
Auckland Transport said it was still talking to Waka Kotahi about the later funding for the full switch, to the actual new national ticketing solution, or NTS.
"AT is in conversations with NZTA around the funding of its transition costs."