Regarding security, there is no doubt that all of these systems eventually end up cracked. So long as the card is trusted, there will always be a way. It can be made more and more difficult, but its pretty much impossible for there not to be a theoretical way.
The thing about Wellington is its less profitable to do so, sure its a fun hobby for some smart people, and there may be a small black market in them, but the city just isn't big enough to hide a major black market in them like a city such as NYC with its metrocards. You'd just get caught too quickly. So while cracking them is fun, it'd remain niche in NZ.
More of a concern, and this has pinged me twice now, forgetting to tap off and seeing you get charged a full $8+ fare at the next tap on seriously sucks (when you were only doing a $1.35 fare in the first place). Easy to remember on busses, but on trains it's all too easy to walk right by the post without tapping it if they're not in your line of sight.
Regarding security, there is no doubt that all of these systems eventually end up cracked. So long as the card is trusted, there will always be a way. It can be made more and more difficult, but its pretty much impossible for there not to be a theoretical way.
The thing about Wellington is its less profitable to do so, sure its a fun hobby for some smart people, and there may be a small black market in them, but the city just isn't big enough to hide a major black market in them like a city such as NYC with its metrocards. You'd just get caught too quickly. So while cracking them is fun, it'd remain niche in NZ.
More of a concern, and this has pinged me twice now, forgetting to tap off and seeing you get charged a full $8+ fare at the next tap on seriously sucks (when you were only doing a $1.35 fare in the first place). Easy to remember on busses, but on trains it's all too easy to walk right by the post without tapping it if they're not in your line of sight.