The Wheels on the Bus Go Round and Round

One of the primary concerns I had for going abroad was how I was going to get around.  As someone who had a car on campus at Loyola, I knew this was something I thought could present a challenge for me.

Surprisingly getting around Auckland has been much easier than I expected. We have walked all over the city and we have quickly come to realize everything we need is within such a short walking distance.

Now when it comes to exploring beyond the campus and the certain mile radius we are willing to walk, the public transportation here has proven to be extremely efficient.  In fact, I had my very first experience with navigating the public transportation Auckland offers just a few days back.

Looking for something to do before classes get started, we decided to visit the Auckland Zoo and take advantage of the discount they offer on Friday nights.  Once we realized the zoo was beyond what we could walk, we took this opportunity to figure out one the various modes of transportation the city of Auckland provides—the bus.

Inside the bus

Early on we were advised to pick up an “ATHOP” card in order to make our travels significantly easier.  A main benefit to using this card is the student discount that comes along with it.  Well, I guess I shouldn’t say “comes along with it” since the process to getting the discount activated was quite an ordeal.    

ATHOP Card

Not to get too much into it, but after purchasing the card itself, it has to be registered online.  However, when entering the personal information required to complete the registration, we were repeatedly denied.  It got the point we had to call the customer service number, which still gave us no answers.  Somehow we managed to figure out the problem on our own, but a registration you would expect to take about five minutes, took about two hours with all the complications it presented. 

Funny thing is, as much as we struggled with the online registration forum, we were far from done. Everything here always seems to have so many steps and the next step to setting up our ATHOP card required us to go to one of the public transportation locations to actually activate the discount.

When we got there, the activation process was quick, but one of us forgot to register on the app first.  As they love their several step processes here, not only did you have to register the card online, but then you had to download the app and apply for the concession to prove you were eligible for the discount in order to be considered for activation.

Still struggling with phone plans, we had to find WIFI in order to get this situated on-site.  We ended up in a Nike store where the WIFI was strong enough to get the app set up.  It was not a complete waste of time either since we got to see this really elaborate sneaker chandelier they had in the store as well as some of the different items Nike sells in New Zealand.

Shoe Chandelier

Finally all set with our discounts, we asked for the best route to the zoo and were on our way.  Going to and from the zoo we waited no longer than five minutes for a bus to arrive and we even had the chance to ride in a double decker bus home.  

This experience proved how accessible everything is in Auckland.  Walking is definitely the easiest and cheapest option, but even when you reach beyond those limits, the bus was just a little over five New Zealand dollars roundtrip. The app even provides bus routes for your convenience; this definitely helped us keep track of where we were heading and when we had to get off.  And with all that down, all you have to do is use your ATHOP card to tap on and tap off and you are set to go!