Ticket Types - Traditional card; Paper; or Mobile

[whole diary]

[PhilWakely]

Apparently, tickets issued by GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) ticket offices will now default to the larger paper tickets. You will still be able to be issued with 'traditional' tickets if you specifically ask for one, or if your journey involves London Underground. So, if you are one of the Coffee Shop members who 'regularly' buys a '3 in 7' or '8 in 15' Rover, make sure you remember to ask as I hate to imagine what the state of your paper ticket on journey 8 will be!

As a matter of interest, given the choice, in what format do you prefer to receive your ticket?

[TaplowGreen]

Mobile - e-transactions and tickets are the way forward - cheaper, less waste and less bits of paper to lose!

Increasingly this is the way all tickets are being issued, for sporting events, concerts etc.

[Witham Bobby]

Apparently, tickets issued by GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) ticket offices will now default to the larger paper tickets. You will still be able to be issued with 'traditional' tickets if you specifically ask for one, or if your journey involves London Underground. So, if you are one of the Coffee Shop members who 'regularly' buys a '3 in 7' or '8 in 15' Rover, make sure you remember to ask as I hate to imagine what the state of your paper ticket on journey 8 will be!

As a matter of interest, given the choice, in what format do you prefer to receive your ticket?

Edmondson card, please. 1 7⁄32" x 2 1⁄4"

[Mark A]

As a matter of interest, given the choice, in what format do you prefer to receive your ticket?

Perhaps the equivalent of an Oyster^▸ (Smartcard system used by passengers on Transport for London services) card, but tied to a phone app, not sure that that exists. Advantages: robust, no battery, doesn't go flat. Engineered to be fluidly compatible with the readers so, more likely to work quickly and work every time. The app needs to give me the ability to freeze/unfreeze it. Thinking about it, this sounds like a debit card, so perhaps things are almost there. I'm not keen on ticketing held on a mobile phone and I'm alarmed at people waving them around at ticket barriers as it's a fixed point for miscreants to profile and target someone - and in any case the tech often seems to throw a pffaff. Thinking of phones, on the other hand it's so useful to be able to buy the ticket for the next leg of the journey (e.g. not expecting to be there and sitting on a tram through Castlefields Station, Manchester, buying a TfL^» (Transport for London - about) ticket from Piccadilly to Newport while trying not to be distracted by the peculiar view of Manchester Central station approaches transformation and reuse.)

Mark

[grahame]

As a matter of interest, given the choice, in what format do you prefer to receive your ticket?

Good question - I have no easy answer.

For UK^▸ (United Kingdom) national rail tickets, I strongly prefer the credit card printed tickets.
For London, I use an Oyster^▸ (Smartcard system used by passengers on Transport for London services) card
For Interrail journeys, I use an electronic pass in my phone

Why?  Trust of the system has to be my top priority and I don't trust the national system without a physical proof printed in my hand.  Too many mis-sells on offer.  Oyster, hey, it's not long distance extra costs if it goes a bit wrong.  Interrail - single pass.

[johnneyw]

I've used ticketless on my GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) app but always feel more confident if I've got a card or paper ticket as they won't run out off battery power....and on a few occasions that has mattered.

[TaplowGreen]

Perhaps e-tickets could come with a small discount to encourage people to go that way - reflecting the lower cost involved in the process?

[JayMac]

I predominantly use mobile tickets these days. Although my rail travel mileage has dropped of a cliff since moving back to Taunton and having a car again. Only occasional jollies now.

Nice to know that CCSTs^▸ (Credit Card Sized Ticket) can still be requested for Rovers & Rangers as an alternative to PRTs^▸ (Paper Roll Ticket)*. Phil, do you know if ticket clerks have been instructed to always issue such products on CCST stock?


Mods/Admins: A couple of abbreviations for the list?

CCST - Credit Card Sized Ticket
PRT - Paper Roll Ticket.

[Chris from Nailsea]

Mods/Admins: A couple of abbreviations for the list?

Done! CfN^▸ (Chris from Nailsea, an administrator on this forum).

[bobm]

I tend to go for physical tickets.  Having a mobile one could be seen as putting all your eggs in one basket.  If my phone is lost or stolen I’d lose my ticket and my virtual debit card so would not be able to buy a replacement. 

[TaplowGreen]

I tend to go for physical tickets.  Having a mobile one could be seen as putting all your eggs in one basket.  If my phone is lost or stolen I’d lose my ticket and my virtual debit card so would not be able to buy a replacement. 

What if you lost your "physical" tickets? Would GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) replace them?

[bobm]

Maybe not but I would have the means to buy a new one.