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Auckland will be the first city in New Zealand to offer an integrated transport smart card, the Auckland Regional Transport Authority announced Dec. 7. The agency has signed an agreement with French technology vendor Thales Group, the New Zealand Transport Agency and the Auckland Regional Council for a "super" transport ticket for Auckland, according to an Auckland transport authority statement. Under the agreement, the authority will offer a single ticket consumers may use on trains, buses and ferries. The capital investment will be NZ$47 million (US$33.3 million), and the project will be operational by September 2011, before the Rugby World Cup, the statement adds. Moreover, the new system eventually will be able to process small payments such as coffee purchases, parking meter charges and other small retail charges, the transport authority says.