Whilst Chiltern at High Wycombe we’re having their IT meltdown the other week with no TVM’s available, it struck me as stupid as to why ticket booth staff can’t issue pre-booked tickets as long as you have the payment card and the booking reference. I like to collect my tickets a couple of days before I travel in case of a problem retrieving them but why can’t the booth staff also print them out?
-
Our new ticketing site is now live! Using either this or the original site (both 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!
Why can’t ticket booth staff print out pre-booked tickets?
- Thread starter Tallguy
- Start date
- Status
Sponsor Post - registered members do not see these adverts; click here to register, or click here to log in
R
RailUK Forums
Haywain
Veteran Member
- Joined
- 3 Feb 2013
- Messages
- 19,794
The ‘meltdown’ was, I believe, a problem with the database that holds the ticket details, that’s why.
So why can’t ticket booth staff print out tickets bought over the web when there isn’t an IT meltdown…..??
I am not sure I understand the question; if the ticket vending machines are working, they should be used. And if they are not working, then if it's a back office issue the ticket office may also be unable to do it.
I guess the journey you booked is not e-ticket enabled? It's a shame not all flows are e-ticket enabled as that avoids all these issues!
The ticket machine is provided to do this. If there is a problem printing the the ticket office may be able to print them, but it depends on the retailer you have bought the ticket from. Some will "lock" the booking when it thinks it is printed and they are the only ones who can release it for printing again. If they can't be printed because the server/back office has failed then its the same for the ticket desk so they wouldn't be able to access it.
If there is no issue with the ticket machine then you wouldn't need the ticket desk anyway? All you have to do is type your code into the machine and press print.
I was referring to my recent LNER journeys. I book via the LNER app and collect the tickets prior to the day of travel. I refuse to rely on e tickets on my phone in case I lose it or the battery goes flat, it breaks etc.
My question was assuming back office systems are working but the TVM’s aren’t which has happened at stations close to me, why can’t ticket booth staff print out the tickets?
when I went to collect my latest batch of tickets at High Wycombe on Saturday one of the TVM’s wasn’t working, thankfully the other one was.
I can't comment for all TOCs of course, but at mine if the station has only 1 machine and it isn't working then the ticket desk can print the tickets, but if all the TVMs are not working then odds are that the ticket office system will only be able to sell immediate travel tickets as its probably also gone off-line.
Wallsendmag
Established Member
LSM the central store for ToD was offline neither the TVMs nor the Ticket Office TIS could retrieve booking details. It's like all the roads being shut accross the country and asking why your Amazon delivery hasn't arrived.
It isn't the best use of resource or cost for staff at ticket offices to be printing off tickets for passengers that have been booked online. The ticket machines should be used for this.
That leaves the staff free to help passengers with more complex etc issues.
I'm confused - as far as I'm aware ticket office staff can print tickets. There have been a few instances when I wanted to collect a ticket, and the machines had a queue but the ticket office didn't, so I went to the office and the staff happily printed my tickets.
I've read on here that someone (the retailer?) has to pay more to the TOC who prints it though.
You can print e-tickets at home or anywhere with a printer too, which gives you 2 or more copies (obviously it's still the same ticket so can only be used once)... what if you lose your rail stock tickets?
I've read on here that someone (the retailer?) has to pay more to the TOC who prints it though.
You can print e-tickets at home or anywhere with a printer too, which gives you 2 or more copies (obviously it's still the same ticket so can only be used once)... what if you lose your rail stock tickets?
It is technically possible for tickets purchased online to be collected at a ticket office but, quite understandably, the rail industry does not want to encourage this because if it would use much more expensive staffing resource.
In the internal rail industry accounting system a ticket collected at a ticket office costs more than one issued at a ticket machine.
In the internal rail industry accounting system a ticket collected at a ticket office costs more than one issued at a ticket machine.
Adam Williams
Established Member
Are you in a position to be able to print the e-Tickets yourself?
This seems a bit unfair to me as it effectively penalises the retailer for what are in many cases the station operator's problems.
Indeed; in this case I believe Chiltern will be charging LNER something like 50p (?) for these tickets to be collected.
LNER probably aren't that bothered as they will be charging other TOCs, in one huge merry-go-round of charging.
It's third party retailers who really lose out.
If e-tickets are available, I would recommend people use those. If anyone wants a physical copy, they can be printed. If travelling as a group, you can give each person in the group a copy of the tickets or email etc (when I go abroad it's very common for tickets to be issued as e-tickets and I often book for a group and give everyone a copy of the tickets)
With paper tickets, there is the faff of collecting them and if they are lost or stolen then the customer has to purchase replacement tickets at their own expense.
If the TVMs are not working and there is no way to collect a ticket, the customer must be allowed to travel and, if subject to a ticket inspection, can simply quote their TOD collection reference number. The tickets can be collected en-route. However not all train companies follow this procedure and there have been some reports of forcing passengers to buy replacement tickets and seek refunds, which is not correct, but it does happen occasionally.
Sometimes a TVM will get stuck printing tickets; in this case the procedure is for any relevant ticket office to re-print the tickets but in practice this rarely happens and passengers can be sent back and forth between TVM operators and retailers (see this thread: https://www.railforums.co.uk/threads/tod-collection-problem-return-portion-not-printed.189276/ )
I don't know if this is an issue at all TOCs or varies for different systems but at mine certain smaller third party retailers, Train Split being especially known for it, will 'lock' the booking so we can't print the missing tickets off and then their helpline is left unanswered so there's no way to print them for the customer. Writing a 'pass' out is all well and good, but not much use if it's future travel and the passengers is trying to be organised.
The customer service from some of these retailers is really poor and makes life harder for everyone involved. It feels like once they've took their booking fee they have no interest. The ultimate loser is invariably the customer.
Haywain
Veteran Member
- Joined
- 3 Feb 2013
- Messages
- 19,794
On the contrary, LNER would much prefer its customers to use eTickets.
I travelled on a very busy LNER service yesterday on which there was a full ticket check. I noted that only two passengers in the carriage I was travelling in presented credit card sized tickets, everyone else presenting an e-ticket, mostly on their phone but some on paper.
You could hear the guards ticket scanned beeping as he scanned the e-ticket Aztec code.
You could hear the guards ticket scanned beeping as he scanned the e-ticket Aztec code.
Haywain
Veteran Member
- Joined
- 3 Feb 2013
- Messages
- 19,794
Some guards have become attuned to the variations in the beep tone so as they not when to ask further questions.
BluePenguin
On Moderation
I have rarely had difficulty having tickets printed out at the ticket office. I once had issues with the machine at Stanstead airport. The man in the office claimed he could could not put them out for me. So I stood around awkwardly and paced nervously until he eventually he caved in and did his job.
Can’t and won’t are very different things.
Can’t and won’t are very different things.
Out of interest, was there anyone in your carriage who did not have a ticket at all?
I don’t have a printer at home and would need to Forward an e ticket to work and print it there, assuming I am in the office. Never lost an advanced ticket I have got from a TVM yet….
Chiltern staff at Risborough and high Wycombe have categorically stated to me that they can not print out LNER tickets bought via the LNER app.
They can't print off e-tickets, but their Ticket Office machines (Worldline @station/TOMTIS/MTIS, depending on who you ask) definitely can issue tickets that have been setup for Ticket on Departure collection.
Chiltern staff have categorically stated to me that they can not print off tickets that I have bought via the LNER app and that they can only be collected from the TVM’s.
If you have proof otherwise please post it up and I will make a complaint next time the TVM’s aren’t working but the back office systems are…..
Wallsendmag
Established Member
(Cough) Bull**** (cough) We also operate Mtis @station and it's perfectly cpable of issuing ToDs. Maybe Chiltern have a no TVM no ToDs policy or the staff thought you'd bought an eTicket.
Last edited:
I can only tell you what I have been told by staff in the ticket booths at both Risborough and High Wycombe.
No, all present and correct from what I could see.
allotments
Member
Frequently the single ticket vending machine at Slade Green goes offline. Whenever this happens tickets purchased online can't be collected.
I've been able to give the collection code to the booking office who will print tickets without difficulty.
This is what customers expect if the TVM is faulty.
I've been able to give the collection code to the booking office who will print tickets without difficulty.
This is what customers expect if the TVM is faulty.
RJ
Established Member
You, or whoever purchased the ticket would have had to nominate a station with a TVM to collect the tickets from. Why is it an issue?
If there’s a problem with the TVMs then the ticket office may be able to assist but they should be tried in the first instance.
allotments
Member
Although apps ask from which station tickets will be collected from, I've always been able to pick up tickets from any TVM.
I do that frequently and it's never failed.
So I don't really understand why the customer is asked to specify collection station. Software design would be better simplified. Is there any purpose to this?
I do that frequently and it's never failed.
So I don't really understand why the customer is asked to specify collection station. Software design would be better simplified. Is there any purpose to this?
alistairlees
Established Member
- Joined
- 29 Dec 2016
- Messages
- 4,044
Many stations don't have a TVM (or booking office) from which tickets can be collected. The purpose was to ensure that customers were made aware of this by being forced to select somewhere that did have collection facilities. Whilst the problem is less acute now, it was significant 10 years ago when far more stations did not have collection facilities.
Alex365Dash
Member
It ensures that you can actually collect a ticket from the station you’re planning to collect it from - whilst the list of stations that you can’t collect tickets from is relatively small compared to the list of stations that do, you don’t want to turn up at Dilton Marsh to collect your ticket only to find there isn’t a ticket machine to collect it from.
- Status