• Our booking engine at tickets.railforums.co.uk (powered by TrainSplit) helps support the running of the forum with every ticket purchase! Find out more and ask any questions/give us feedback in this thread!

Are e-tickets the way forward?

Status
Not open for further replies.

Bletchleyite

Veteran Member
Joined
20 Oct 2014
Messages
97,540
Location
"Marston Vale mafia"
Not yet but that's clearly the long term plan, in the same way as that when the banks introduced online banking a few years ago it wasn't to make life easier for its customer it was so that eventually they could save costs and increase profits by mass closure of branches and associated redundancies.

Again, it's a win-win. The business saves costs, the customer gets more convenience. I've banked online since about 2000, first via the Co-op Bank's online-only Smile product, and for a few years now with Monzo. I have no desire to return to the old-fashioned practice of going to a branch and wasting my time in a queue to ask someone to do something I can do myself.
 
Sponsor Post - registered members do not see these adverts; click here to register, or click here to log in
R

RailUK Forums

yorkie

Forum Staff
Staff Member
Administrator
Joined
6 Jun 2005
Messages
67,435
Location
Yorkshire
When we went to Manchester Airport railway station, it was not just for the purpose of booking tickets. We then treated ourselves to a bus ride from the interchange bus station on the 199 bus to Buxton, which we both enjoyed, which cost us naught as we used our ENCTS bus passes.
I don't get free bus travel to my local station to buy tickets. I want to be able to buy tickets at any time. I may be at work, at home, on the move or anything.

I don't want to queue at a ticket office, I don't want to pay the premium for a through ticket and I don't want someone else to be selecting the seat for me, when I can pick it myself from the seating plan.

Of course you are free to continue to use old methods if you like but the younger generations are keen to move on to more modern and convenient methods
 

Bletchleyite

Veteran Member
Joined
20 Oct 2014
Messages
97,540
Location
"Marston Vale mafia"
Take for example ticket inspections on trains – if I have a paper ticket I simply show it to the guard, he clips it and moves on – the whole process takes a matter of seconds. Whereas if I had an e-ticket I would have to switch my phone on and wait a couple of minutes for it to boot up, then try to get an internet connection, log onto the website I booked it on, download the ticket, then try to find where my phone has stored it and hope that the file hasn’t got corrupted as pdf files often tend to do. If any of these steps fail or if my battery’s dead or the display isn’t working and I get a jobsworth guard, I could have to buy a new ticket, pay a penalty fare and perhaps even get charged with fare evasion and end up with a criminal record! I know which option is easier and more convenient for me and it certainly isn’t an e-ticket!

Phones are left switched on by most people at all times. That's how you get most benefit from one. Even overnight there's "do not disturb mode" these days which allows through calls from a selected few e.g. immediate family in case it's an emergency but ignores everything else. Turning an iPhone off is hidden in the menu as so few people want to actually do it. Before you say "but battery", the norm is to plug it in overnight each night, and all modern smartphones will do a day and a bit on the battery (that's the "sweet spot").

Try "when you book, you click the link to add the ticket to your phone's wallet, then simply pop it up to show it when the guard comes round".

Perhaps smartphones aren't for you, but most people do not use a phone in the way you do. It's almost pointless having one if used that way.
 

johncrossley

Established Member
Joined
30 Mar 2021
Messages
2,976
Location
London
20 years ago business travellers rocked up at the station and bought a ticket using either a travel warrant or credit card to pay

Yes, some did that, but what about the business travellers who went by car who could have gone by train? How do you know they weren't put off by the chance of missing the train because of a queue or simply didn't fancy having to queue?
 

Bletchleyite

Veteran Member
Joined
20 Oct 2014
Messages
97,540
Location
"Marston Vale mafia"
Yes, some did that, but what about the business travellers who went by car who could have gone by train? How do you know they weren't put off by the chance of missing the train because of a queue or simply didn't fancy having to queue?

As someone who was for many years a prolific business traveller and knew other prolific business travellers, I can confirm that this is just made-up nonsense. The reasons people chose cars was because of the door to door convenience, because of the privacy, because of the flexibility, so they could take more luggage or just by default, or sometimes because the 40-45p/mile rate allowed one to "profit" from a trip legitimately because it contained a contribution to the cost of purchase and maintenance rather than just marginal consumables. And air was chosen over rail because it was quicker and felt fancier, and back then booking air was a whole lot more of a faff than rail, usually requiring the services of a travel agent. Needing 10 extra minutes to buy a ticket simply was not a consideration.
 

pemma

Veteran Member
Joined
23 Jan 2009
Messages
31,474
Location
Knutsford
Cheques were never needed and other countries hardly used them, preferring the superior method of bank transfers, long before the internet was invented.

Mobile card payment machines are very new. Before them small businesses and organisations couldn't take card payments. I can remember butcher stalls not accepting card payments. On a normal day that was fine as everyone paid by cash but near Christmas when people wanted more pricey turkeys cheque books came out. It was also beneficial for the butcher that not everyone paid in cash at that point as it prevented hundreds of pounds of cash takings being behind the counter. I'm not sure how you think a bank transfer would have worked instead?

Again, it's a win-win. The business saves costs, the customer gets more convenience. I've banked online since about 2000, first via the Co-op Bank's online-only Smile product, and for a few years now with Monzo. I have no desire to return to the old-fashioned practice of going to a branch and wasting my time in a queue to ask someone to do something I can do myself.

While there's arguments against cheques and postal orders, if you had one until very recently you needed to go in to a branch to pay it in, for many that was the only time they actually went in to a branch. Now banks like Starling and Virgin Money do accept cheque pay ins via their app, not that there's necessarily a lot of use for the feature.
 

Bletchleyite

Veteran Member
Joined
20 Oct 2014
Messages
97,540
Location
"Marston Vale mafia"
Mobile card payment machines are very new. Before them small businesses and organisations couldn't take card payments. I can remember butcher stalls not accepting card payments. On a normal day that was fine as everyone paid by cash but near Christmas when people wanted more pricey turkeys cheque books came out. It was also beneficial for the butcher that not everyone paid in cash at that point as it prevented hundreds of pounds of cash takings being behind the counter. I'm not sure how you think a bank transfer would have worked instead?

Germany has never really done cheques. What you did instead was wrote out a bank transfer slip and took it to your own bank where the transfer would be made for you. If ordering a turkey, say, you'd agree that in person then go to your bank and transfer the money using a reference. If purchasing in person it would always just be cash.
 

Deafdoggie

Established Member
Joined
29 Sep 2016
Messages
3,035
Not yet but that's clearly the long term plan, in the same way as that when the banks introduced online banking a few years ago it wasn't to make life easier for its customer it was so that eventually they could save costs and increase profits by mass closure of branches and associated redundancies.

Personally I enjoy the best of both worlds; the convenience of booking in advance online and the reassurance of being able to collect a physical paper ticket that easily fits in my wallet and gives both me and the rail staff who inspect it all the information we need.

Take for example ticket inspections on trains – if I have a paper ticket I simply show it to the guard, he clips it and moves on – the whole process takes a matter of seconds. Whereas if I had an e-ticket I would have to switch my phone on and wait a couple of minutes for it to boot up, then try to get an internet connection, log onto the website I booked it on, download the ticket, then try to find where my phone has stored it and hope that the file hasn’t got corrupted as pdf files often tend to do. If any of these steps fail or if my battery’s dead or the display isn’t working and I get a jobsworth guard, I could have to buy a new ticket, pay a penalty fare and perhaps even get charged with fare evasion and end up with a criminal record! I know which option is easier and more convenient for me and it certainly isn’t an e-ticket!
I'd get a newer phone and book through an app if I were you. Modern phones don't need to "boot-up" you don't need to go to any website and therefore don't need Internet or phone signal. If you really think you're struggle with it you can print it off beforehand anyway and then, guess what, you've got a paper ticket anyway!
E-Tickets really aren't the problem some people try to make out they are.
 

pemma

Veteran Member
Joined
23 Jan 2009
Messages
31,474
Location
Knutsford
If ordering a turkey, say, you'd agree that in person then go to your bank and transfer the money using a reference.

So it sounds like cheques were the customer friendly method. You didn't need to make a trip to your own bank and your card could be used to guarantee the cheque, so the retailer knew the cheque would clear.
 

Haywain

Veteran Member
Joined
3 Feb 2013
Messages
14,877
if I have a paper ticket I simply show it to the guard, he clips it and moves on – the whole process takes a matter of seconds.
Wow, you keep your ticket in your hand all of the time? You've never popped it in a pocket or wallet and not been able to locate it immediately?
 

pemma

Veteran Member
Joined
23 Jan 2009
Messages
31,474
Location
Knutsford
Modern phones don't need to "boot-up"

Actually I find my phone, running on the latest Android version, can take a few minutes to start up if it had a pending system update when it was shut down, the same as anything running on Microsoft Windows.

If your phone always comes on instantly I'd suggest it's no longer receiving system updates, some only get updates for 1 or 2 years from the date of first use.
 

Haywain

Veteran Member
Joined
3 Feb 2013
Messages
14,877
Actually I find my phone, running on the latest Android version, can take a few minutes to start up if it had a pending system update when it was shut down, the same as anything running on Microsoft Windows.

If your phone always comes on instantly I'd suggest it's no longer receiving system updates, some only get updates for 1 or 2 years from the date of first use.
What sort of person carries a phone around but keeps it turned off?
 

Bletchleyite

Veteran Member
Joined
20 Oct 2014
Messages
97,540
Location
"Marston Vale mafia"
So it sounds like cheques were the customer friendly method. You didn't need to make a trip to your own bank

For this specific niche use-case, probably, yes.

and your card could be used to guarantee the cheque, so the retailer knew the cheque would clear.

Cheque guarantee cards were a stupid and totally unnecessary idea. The card could simply have been used to process a card payment using a manual machine instead, exactly how credit cards were processed for many years.

What sort of person carries a phone around but keeps it turned off?

Well, quite.

If you want to save battery because it's low, just stick flight mode on. A phone uses hardly any battery with flight mode on and the screen off. It'll last half a day on 1% battery like that, easily. I've even done half an hour of music on 1% with everything else off.
 

johncrossley

Established Member
Joined
30 Mar 2021
Messages
2,976
Location
London
So it sounds like cheques were the customer friendly method. You didn't need to make a trip to your own bank and your card could be used to guarantee the cheque, so the retailer knew the cheque would clear.
You couldn't use Cheque Guarantee Cards for remote purchase.

Cheque guarantee cards were a stupid and totally unnecessary idea. The card could simply have been used to process a card payment using a manual machine instead, exactly how credit cards were processed for many years.

Especially after debit cards were invented. It used to annoy people when the customer in front paid by cheque using the debit card as a Cheque Guarantee Card.
 

CaptainHaddock

Established Member
Joined
10 Feb 2011
Messages
2,206
What sort of person carries a phone around but keeps it turned off?
A sensible one who wants to relax on the train and doesn't like being disturbed unnecessarily.

Do you keep the oven on at home all the time on the off chance you might feel hungry? ;)
 

Bletchleyite

Veteran Member
Joined
20 Oct 2014
Messages
97,540
Location
"Marston Vale mafia"
A sensible one who wants to relax on the train and doesn't like being disturbed unnecessarily.

Just turn the ringer off or stick it in flight mode, or use the "do not disturb" feature modern phones have to selectively allow important calls, e.g. from immediate family.

Do you keep the oven on at home all the time on the off chance you might feel hungry? ;)

Owners of an AGA or similar do, but obviously that is otherwise a silly analogy.
 

87 027

Member
Joined
1 Sep 2010
Messages
699
Location
London
Cheque guarantee cards were a stupid and totally unnecessary idea.
Cheque guarantee cards were originally nothing more than a letter of credit from your own bank printed on a piece of plastic. They weren't backed by any sort of payment mechanism. Until the 1990s if you wanted to pay for something using a piece of plastic you had to apply for a credit or charge card which was backed by one of the big multinational companies such as Mastercard, Visa etc. Indeed when I opened my first bank account in the 1980s debit cards hadn't been invented yet and it was the credit card that doubled up as the cheque guarantee card. Obviously once debit cards gained widespread traction they largely replaced cheques but cheques do still have a place in certain circumstances.

Just turn the ringer off or stick it in flight mode, or use the "do not disturb" feature modern phones have to selectively allow important calls, e.g. from immediate family.
This probably uses much less battery than constantly booting up and shutting down the phone. However I know someone who only turns the phone on to check for messages and then shuts it down again. One day he missed a call telling him his mother had died and he only picked the message up several hours later.
 

stuu

Established Member
Joined
2 Sep 2011
Messages
2,729
Actually I find my phone, running on the latest Android version, can take a few minutes to start up if it had a pending system update when it was shut down, the same as anything running on Microsoft Windows.

If your phone always comes on instantly I'd suggest it's no longer receiving system updates, some only get updates for 1 or 2 years from the date of first use.
Software updates on Android and IOS always ask if you want them to happen. So this is a non-problem
 

Bletchleyite

Veteran Member
Joined
20 Oct 2014
Messages
97,540
Location
"Marston Vale mafia"
Software updates on Android and IOS always ask if you want them to happen. So this is a non-problem

It's a non-problem if you use your smartphone as intended rather than repeatedly turning it off and on again. There's no point having a smartphone if you aren't going to take advantage of its functionality.
 

Hadders

Veteran Member
Associate Staff
Senior Fares Advisor
Joined
27 Apr 2011
Messages
12,980
Whereas if I had an e-ticket I would have to switch my phone on and wait a couple of minutes for it to boot up, then try to get an internet connection, log onto the website I booked it on, download the ticket, then try to find where my phone has stored it and hope that the file hasn’t got corrupted as pdf files often tend to do. If any of these steps fail or if my battery’s dead or the display isn’t working and I get a jobsworth guard, I could have to buy a new ticket, pay a penalty fare and perhaps even get charged with fare evasion and end up with a criminal record! I know which option is easier and more convenient for me and it certainly isn’t an e-ticket!
This is stretching things somewhat.

I don’t know anyone who switches their mobile phone off when travelling. Maybe put it in silent or airline mode if you don’t want to be disturbed.

You don’t need to log onto a website or download an e-ticket. It is attached to your email confirmation. Simply show it at a barrier line or during a ticket inspection. I made a journey on an LNER train recently and literally everyone was using e-tickets, most shown on a smartphone but some printed.

There are jobsworth guards out there but the same jobsworth guard would not look on you favourably we’re you to misplace a paper ticket during your journey.
 

stuu

Established Member
Joined
2 Sep 2011
Messages
2,729
It's a non-problem if you use your smartphone as intended rather than repeatedly turning it off and on again. There's no point having a smartphone if you aren't going to take advantage of its functionality.
That too.

People seem to go out of their way to invent reasons not to do new things, while the rest of the world moves on. When did anyone last use an actual airline ticket?
 

CaptainHaddock

Established Member
Joined
10 Feb 2011
Messages
2,206
That too.

People seem to go out of their way to invent reasons not to do new things, while the rest of the world moves on.
It works both ways though, doesn't it?

Some people are so obsessed with technology and "progress" that they don't stop and question whether it makes their lives better or who it benefits (clue - it's the company not its customers!). It seems these days if you don't do absolutely everything on your smartphone and spend your every waking minute brainlessly staring at it then you're some kind of luddite who's 40 years out of date. Abandoning paper tickets and insisting everyone must own a smartphone if they want to travel by train may benefit some but it doesn't mean everyone shouild have to follow suit.
 

Deafdoggie

Established Member
Joined
29 Sep 2016
Messages
3,035
It works both ways though, doesn't it?

Some people are so obsessed with technology and "progress" that they don't stop and question whether it makes their lives better or who it benefits (clue - it's the company not its customers!). It seems these days if you don't do absolutely everything on your smartphone and spend your every waking minute brainlessly staring at it then you're some kind of luddite who's 40 years out of date. Abandoning paper tickets and insisting everyone must own a smartphone if they want to travel by train may benefit some but it doesn't mean everyone shouild have to follow suit.
No one is insisting on it. People have abandoned paper tickets because e-tickets are easier, faster, more convenient and more environmentally friendly. As more routes accept e-tickets, more will be sold. If they weren't better for the passenger then people wouldn't buy them!
 

pemma

Veteran Member
Joined
23 Jan 2009
Messages
31,474
Location
Knutsford
System updates on Android and IOS used to always ask if you want them to happen but don't anymore. So this may be a problem

Corrected that for you. Nokia phones install system updates by default for 2 years and I'm pretty sure other manufacturers have gone down the same route. You get the option of delaying big updates (such as an upgrade to the next version of Android) until you're on WiFi but small updates happen at any time without warning. My old Motorola always asked if I want to install updates first and then if I didn't it started to try to force me to do it before allowing me to do other things with it. You might say that's an annoyance in itself, having to dismiss an update warning before it allows you to open the app where the ticket is held. Saying that on the old Motorola updates were less frequent and much bigger, it warned you that a restart may take 15-20 minutes!

It's a non-problem if you use your smartphone as intended rather than repeatedly turning it off and on again. There's no point having a smartphone if you aren't going to take advantage of its functionality.

I wouldn't normally turn off a phone when out and about but if it starts misbehaving I would do a restart. In fact I had to do that a couple of weeks ago when I wanted to take a photo as the camera app was playing up.

That too.

People seem to go out of their way to invent reasons not to do new things, while the rest of the world moves on. When did anyone last use an actual airline ticket?

You don't need a ticket to board a plane, you need a boarding pass. A ticket was only needed to check in and they realised the same thing could be done using your surname and a booking reference.
 

CaptainHaddock

Established Member
Joined
10 Feb 2011
Messages
2,206
No one is insisting on it. People have abandoned paper tickets because e-tickets are easier, faster, more convenient and more environmentally friendly. As more routes accept e-tickets, more will be sold. If they weren't better for the passenger then people wouldn't buy them!

That's not necessarily true, is it? TOCs are obviously employing "nudge theory" tactics as it's in their interests to phase out paper tickets and then use that as justification to remove TVMs and close down booking offices. For example if you book on LNER's website, e-tickets are presented as the default option - if you want to collect your tickets you have to click on a patronising "Don't have a printer or smartphone?" link before collection is even given as an option. Even when you go to the TVM to collect your tickets there's a patronising "Save time - buy an e-ticket next time" message on it!

By making collecting paper tickets as difficult as possible and in some cases, removing the option from their booking site altogether the TOC can then claim that 90% of their passengers (or whatever) choose e-tickets when in reality the choice has already been made for them!
 

Watershed

Veteran Member
Associate Staff
Senior Fares Advisor
Joined
26 Sep 2020
Messages
11,945
Location
UK
That's not necessarily true, is it? TOCs are obviously employing "nudge theory" tactics as it's in their interests to phase out paper tickets and then use that as justification to remove TVMs and close down booking offices. For example if you book on LNER's website, e-tickets are presented as the default option - if you want to collect your tickets you have to click on a patronising "Don't have a printer or smartphone?" link before collection is even given as an option. Even when you go to the TVM to collect your tickets there's a patronising "Save time - buy an e-ticket next time" message on it!

By making collecting paper tickets as difficult as possible and in some cases, removing the option from their booking site altogether the TOC can then claim that 90% of their passengers (or whatever) choose e-tickets when in reality the choice has already been made for them!
Indeed. It would be more accurate to say that 90% of customers accept e-tickets rather than that 90% want them.
 

Bletchleyite

Veteran Member
Joined
20 Oct 2014
Messages
97,540
Location
"Marston Vale mafia"
Indeed. It would be more accurate to say that 90% of customers accept e-tickets rather than that 90% want them.

I think you'll probably find the number of customers who want them is very close to that. To someone who uses a smartphone "properly", they are very advantageous. As I said, a business "win win" that suits the customer and the business. Less so ticket office staff, but an awful lot of those seem to act in a manner that encourages their abolition anyway, so I find sympathy difficult except for the very good ones who will I'm sure be found new roles.
 

Skymonster

Established Member
Joined
7 Feb 2012
Messages
1,726
There’s two separate issues here - on-line booking and e-tickets. As far as online booking is concerned, I fully support and embrace it, and acknowledge it has been an excellent innovation. No need to go to a ticket office in most cases, just use the reference and collected a CCST from a TVM a few minutes prior to departure.

But the concept of e-tickets themselves being convenient / easier is beyond me. Some folks compare / use the analogy of airlines, and airline e-tickets are great - no need for any paper, just a reference number and a name needed, and often not even a reference number if travelling internationally as the name on the passport is usually sufficient for the check-in desk staff to locate the PNR.

Rail e-tickets on the other hand... What’s easier than having a CCST in a shirt pocket and getting it out for ticket inspections and barriers. The phone on the other hand… Especially at barriers, its probably in sleep mode as you approach, need to wake it up, start the reverent app (TOC, email, browser, whatever), find the relevant barcode (may need scrolling if its in an email), and do all this one handed while approaching the barrier while carrying another bag. If you don’t do it soon enough, you clog up the barrier. If you do it too soon and there’s a queue, there’s a possibility the screen will have gone to sleep again before you make the barrier. And again, trying to do this with one hand, carrying a valuable piece of technology that could break if you drop it, while walking and trying to keep an eye on / pace with the movement of other people ahead of you. Then at the barrier - oh, maybe the brightness isn’t up enough, faffing to align the screen with the reader. CCST on the other hand, flip it out of your pocket just as you reach the barrier, insert it into the slot, job done. You seen it regularly - people messing about at barriers because phones aren’t ready. Similarly on the train, I can just put the CCST on the table and carry on watching / listening, no need waste the guard’s time to fire up another app / pause the entertainment / change the brightness, even if I happen to spot the guard coming along. I did this on each of four trains this weekend - CCST on table, guard saw it, checked it and moved on with minimal fuss / delay while others were messing around with phones. Added to which I can put a CCST with my bank / credit card which I always guard with great zealousness, while a phone sometimes goes in a laptop bag in crowds as its too heavy for a shirt pocket and I don’t want to risk it being pick-pocketed - again CCST can be in shirt pocket all the time.

Really, no one will ever convince me that the user experience of a rail e-ticket is anywhere near as simple as using a CCST.
 

Bletchleyite

Veteran Member
Joined
20 Oct 2014
Messages
97,540
Location
"Marston Vale mafia"
There’s two separate issues here - on-line booking and e-tickets. As far as online booking is concerned, I fully support and embrace it, and acknowledge it has been an excellent innovation. No need to go to a ticket office in most cases, just use the reference and collected a CCST from a TVM a few minutes prior to departure.

But the concept of e-tickets themselves being convenient / easier is beyond me. Some folks compare / use the analogy of airlines, and airline e-tickets are great - no need for any paper, just a reference number and a name needed, and often not even a reference number if travelling internationally as the name on the passport is usually sufficient for the check-in desk staff to locate the PNR.

The benefit is that you don't have to conduct ANY transaction at the station (and most importantly queue for it). You go straight to the gateline. This means that you can arrive at the station very close to departure time rather than needing to allow maybe 10 minutes for a potential queue at the TVM or booking office particularly if one or the other is closed/out of order. Also it can't get stuck in the machine etc.

Rail e-tickets on the other hand... What’s easier than having a CCST in a shirt pocket and getting it out for ticket inspections and barriers.

I don't wear a shirt, I tend to wear T-shirts with no breast pocket. Mine need to go in my wallet.

The phone on the other hand… Especially at barriers, its probably in sleep mode as you approach, need to wake it up, start the reverent app (TOC, email, browser, whatever), find the relevant barcode (may need scrolling if its in an email), and do all this one handed while approaching the barrier while carrying another bag.

You don't have it ready just before you alight then turn the screen off, then back on just as you reach the gateline, which means it's there ready?

CCST on the other hand, flip it out of your pocket just as you reach the barrier, insert it into the slot, job done.

Get my wallet out, take out CCST, insert, collect, return to wallet?

Added to which I can put a CCST with my bank / credit card which I always guard with great zealousness, while a phone sometimes goes in a laptop bag in crowds as its too heavy for a shirt pocket and I don’t want to risk it being pick-pocketed - again CCST can be in shirt pocket all the time.

Do you not have trouser pockets? (I'm assuming you're male based on your talking of a shirt pocket rather than a blouse pocket - but were I a woman I'd probably wear trousers for this simple practical reason!)

Keys and wallet in one pocket, phone in the other.

FWIW my phone is worth much more than the contents of my wallet, typically no more than fifty quid cash (often none at all) plus cards which can only be used a limited number of times contactless before they would block, and any such fraudulent use is fully refundable.
 

Deafdoggie

Established Member
Joined
29 Sep 2016
Messages
3,035
That's not necessarily true, is it? TOCs are obviously employing "nudge theory" tactics as it's in their interests to phase out paper tickets and then use that as justification to remove TVMs and close down booking offices. For example if you book on LNER's website, e-tickets are presented as the default option - if you want to collect your tickets you have to click on a patronising "Don't have a printer or smartphone?" link before collection is even given as an option. Even when you go to the TVM to collect your tickets there's a patronising "Save time - buy an e-ticket next time" message on it!

By making collecting paper tickets as difficult as possible and in some cases, removing the option from their booking site altogether the TOC can then claim that 90% of their passengers (or whatever) choose e-tickets when in reality the choice has already been made for them!
I'd suggest using a less patronising website then. There are plenty out there. However, it's the "norm" for most people to have everything on their phone and they welcome railways into the 21st Century with everything else.
There’s two separate issues here - on-line booking and e-tickets. As far as online booking is concerned, I fully support and embrace it, and acknowledge it has been an excellent innovation. No need to go to a ticket office in most cases, just use the reference and collected a CCST from a TVM a few minutes prior to departure.

But the concept of e-tickets themselves being convenient / easier is beyond me. Some folks compare / use the analogy of airlines, and airline e-tickets are great - no need for any paper, just a reference number and a name needed, and often not even a reference number if travelling internationally as the name on the passport is usually sufficient for the check-in desk staff to locate the PNR.

Rail e-tickets on the other hand... What’s easier than having a CCST in a shirt pocket and getting it out for ticket inspections and barriers. The phone on the other hand… Especially at barriers, its probably in sleep mode as you approach, need to wake it up, start the reverent app (TOC, email, browser, whatever), find the relevant barcode (may need scrolling if its in an email), and do all this one handed while approaching the barrier while carrying another bag. If you don’t do it soon enough, you clog up the barrier. If you do it too soon and there’s a queue, there’s a possibility the screen will have gone to sleep again before you make the barrier. And again, trying to do this with one hand, carrying a valuable piece of technology that could break if you drop it, while walking and trying to keep an eye on / pace with the movement of other people ahead of you. Then at the barrier - oh, maybe the brightness isn’t up enough, faffing to align the screen with the reader. CCST on the other hand, flip it out of your pocket just as you reach the barrier, insert it into the slot, job done. You seen it regularly - people messing about at barriers because phones aren’t ready. Similarly on the train, I can just put the CCST on the table and carry on watching / listening, no need waste the guard’s time to fire up another app / pause the entertainment / change the brightness, even if I happen to spot the guard coming along. I did this on each of four trains this weekend - CCST on table, guard saw it, checked it and moved on with minimal fuss / delay while others were messing around with phones. Added to which I can put a CCST with my bank / credit card which I always guard with great zealousness, while a phone sometimes goes in a laptop bag in crowds as its too heavy for a shirt pocket and I don’t want to risk it being pick-pocketed - again CCST can be in shirt pocket all the time.

Really, no one will ever convince me that the user experience of a rail e-ticket is anywhere near as simple as using a CCST.
I really (and genuinely) struggle with the concept of someone finding a modern phone difficult to work. When I'm traveling I leave the ticket app open so my phone wakes on that screen, I use one that automatically adjusts the brightness when showing the ticket. Many a time things fall out of my pocket, particularly small bits of paper like a ticket, once out that's it they are lost. With an e-ticket should your phone be lost (much more unlikely as its more noticeable if it falls out of your pocket) you can log in on any device to show your ticket. Avoiding buying another or a fine!
Paper tickets are often stolen as they can be used by anyone. Thieves rarely steal phones as they are password protected and therefore worth little to them. And once reported stolen can be remotely locked and even deleted and tracked so the thief can be found. A thief would rather a paper ticket to a phone.

No one has yet put up an argument to say that paper tickets are worth keeping...other than they personally prefer them.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Top