Printing tickets at home

[Traveller54]

I prefer to purchase my tickets on line before I travel but it's such a palaver that I wonder if it's worth the bother as you have to get them from the machine at the station and you need to enter the lengthy reference number on a touch screen which is sometimes not particularly responsive, I wonder if it would be quicker just to buy the ticket from the machine.

So why is it not possible to print out your tickets at home? I did this for a journey in Switzerland last summer, so straightforward, no barriers and tickets scanned easily and quickly by the train conductor, nae bother.

I get the impression that many of the cases in the Disputes and Prosecution forum result from difficulties purchasing tickets and surely anything that makes this more user friendly can only be to the good. I can envisage a situation where I have bought a ticket online, get to the station, machine out of order, long queue at ticket desk, train rammed, no conductor in sight, difficulties at destination resulting in me requesting help on theD&P forum!

I know there are potential problems, barriers would need to be adapted to recognise home printed tickets, risk of forgery, increased litter due to A4 papers being discarded but surely these are not insurmountable?

Meantime I would question the need to key in the booking reference at the machine, would insertion of the payment card not suffice, as at cinemas and other places?

 

[FGW_Lad]

You can do for certain tickets, I have bought Advance tickets on East Midlands Trains before and printed at home though I am not sure for on the day tickets but can't see why this would be a problem.

 

[najaB]

Meantime I would question the need to key in the booking reference at the machine, would insertion of the payment card not suffice, as at cinemas and other places?

Often times you don't need to key in the reference. It depends on if the tickets have been set to 'any card' collection or not.

 

[smh1982]

I've printed advanced tickets for transpenine express before. Iirc they donate 25p per ticket that someone prints out at home to charity. Sure someone will correct me if I'm wrong

 

[L&Y Robert]

Last time I pre-purchased I just presented the card I had used to the machine at Banbury and that's all. Out came the tickets! The card is simply a means of i.d. and a reference to the correct transaction. Although I had the reference number handy it wasn't asked for. I have bought tickets at Banbury for routes not including that station by this means as well. However, it might be different now that they have installed ticket barriers.

 

[Y Ddraig Coch]

Often times you don't need to key in the reference. It depends on if the tickets have been set to 'any card' collection or not.

I collect tickets all the time from all different TOC's , I'm not sure I have ever just put my card in and had my tickets printed without a reference number.

Maybe you could tell me with who and where you did this? I would be interested to know.


EDIT ***

Above answers my question perfectly. I learn something new everyday
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

I prefer to purchase my tickets on line before I travel but it's such a palaver that I wonder if it's worth the bother as you have to get them from the machine at the station and you need to enter the lengthy reference number on a touch screen which is sometimes not particularly responsive, I wonder if it would be quicker just to buy the ticket from the machine.

So why is it not possible to print out your tickets at home? I did this for a journey in Switzerland last summer, so straightforward, no barriers and tickets scanned easily and quickly by the train conductor, nae bother.

I get the impression that many of the cases in the Disputes and Prosecution forum result from difficulties purchasing tickets and surely anything that makes this more user friendly can only be to the good. I can envisage a situation where I have bought a ticket online, get to the station, machine out of order, long queue at ticket desk, train rammed, no conductor in sight, difficulties at destination resulting in me requesting help on theD&P forum!

I know there are potential problems, barriers would need to be adapted to recognise home printed tickets, risk of forgery, increased litter due to A4 papers being discarded but surely these are not insurmountable?

Meantime I would question the need to key in the booking reference at the machine, would insertion of the payment card not suffice, as at cinemas and other places?

If you are travelling on Virgin on all legs of your journey you can select either print your own tickets or M- tickets where the tickets are on an app on your mobile so no need for collecting or printing.

 

[najaB]

I collect tickets all the time from all different TOC's , I'm not sure I have ever just put my card in and had my tickets printed without a reference number.

Maybe you could tell me with who and where you did this? I would be interested to know.

To expand on the post above, tickets can be set to 'any card' or 'specific card' for collection (there's probably a technical term for it). If they are set to 'any card' then as the name suggests you can use any credit/debit card to collect the tickets, but you have to key in the booking reference. When they are on 'specific card' then the booking is tied to the card number. If there is only one current booking then the machine will spit out the tickets without needing the booking reference. This is the mode that they should be set to, but apparently for the last year or so most booking engines have been defaulting to 'any card'.

 

[radamfi]

It is not just Switzerland. Many European countries allow you to print out your ticket or store it on your phone. Germany used to have machine pick up like Britain, but self print was so successful they stopped offering it. The Netherlands has barriers but there is always at least one gate that has a barcode reader for self printed tickets.

 

[Traveller54]

To expand on the post above, tickets can be set to 'any card' or 'specific card' for collection (there's probably a technical term for it). If they are set to 'any card' then as the name suggests you can use any credit/debit card to collect the tickets, but you have to key in the booking reference. When they are on 'specific card' then the booking is tied to the card number. If there is only one current booking then the machine will spit out the tickets without needing the booking reference. This is the mode that they should be set to, but apparently for the last year or so most booking engines have been defaulting to 'any card'.

Thanks, I'll look out for this next time

 

[najaB]

Thanks, I'll look out for this next time

I don't think it's an option you can actively select - at least not on any 'normal' booking engine. The corporate TrainLine site allows the account manager to choose which option they want for their users - ours was switched to any card quite some time ago, before the current 'glitch' set most to any card.

 

[flymo]

In my albeit limited experience with collecting tickets on departure, I have only ever had to input the reference number if more than one set of tickets has been booked and are awaiting collection. If I had only one set, i.e. for one journey, awaiting collection the machine just spit them out without me entering the number.

I guess it makes sense to ask for a reference if more than one set are awaiting collection so it prints the right tickets.

Other people's experiences may vary of course.

 

[westv]

I used to collect all my EC/HT tickets from the machine in groups of a month at a time but got fed up with having to insert my debit card and enter a reference 9 times so I use the print at home service now

 

[route:oxford]

To expand on the post above, tickets can be set to 'any card' or 'specific card' for collection (there's probably a technical term for it). If they are set to 'any card' then as the name suggests you can use any credit/debit card to collect the tickets, but you have to key in the booking reference. When they are on 'specific card' then the booking is tied to the card number. If there is only one current booking then the machine will spit out the tickets without needing the booking reference. This is the mode that they should be set to, but apparently for the last year or so most booking engines have been defaulting to 'any card'.

The trouble with the "specific card" section is that 1000s of cards are lost or stolen every day along with a 1 24/36 chance that the card that was used is close to expiry and about to be renewed.

 

[Mojo]

The trouble with the "specific card" section is that 1000s of cards are lost or stolen every day along with a 1 24/36 chance that the card that was used is close to expiry and about to be renewed.

When I "lost" my credit card I called the issuer and they had it changed over the telephone to allow collection with a new card with no fuss at all.

 

[yorkie]

So why is it not possible to print out your tickets at home?

It is, some operators do that.

I won't touch them though because I don't like the loss of rights, for example you need to bring some form of ID, and you also may not be able to change the ticket if you have a change of travel plans. Several people have had bad experiences and said they'll never use them again.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

To expand on the post above, tickets can be set to 'any card' or 'specific card' for collection (there's probably a technical term for it). If they are set to 'any card' then as the name suggests you can use any credit/debit card to collect the tickets, but you have to key in the booking reference. When they are on 'specific card' then the booking is tied to the card number. If there is only one current booking then the machine will spit out the tickets without needing the booking reference. This is the mode that they should be set to, but apparently for the last year or so most booking engines have been defaulting to 'any card'.

Do you have a source for that?

The evidence I have been given, and in this post, suggests otherwise:

Evening,

It has changed for two reasons:

1. The industry has changed the national database for storing 'ticket on departure' bookings a few weeks ago. Previously provided by Fujitsu, it is now provided by Smart421;
2. The industry is moving towards compliance with the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standards (PCIDSS) and this change allows a security check without the need to hold full card data, something that is frowned upon under PCISSS standards.

Regards

Ian

 

[najaB]

Do you have a source for that?

That the booking is tied to the card, personal experience. For work travel I've collected tickets without entering the booking reference scores of times, though not in the last year or so because we moved to booking on account. The couple of times I've booked tickets for personal travel, the ticket office clerk has put my card into their reader and been able to see the booking without the reference.

As to if the booking engines 'should' be set to a specific card, this is based on the fact that their emails still say so. For example:

To collect your tickets, you must have both the credit/debit card used to purchase the tickets and your ticket booking reference. If you do not have them, a new ticket at the full fare will have to be bought to travel. If your payment card has been replaced since you made your booking, please contact Web Support on 0844 556 5636 before starting your journey.

 

[dvboy]

I use print at home if I'm booking Virgin West Coast advances, as it saves having to pick them up at the station. They require the ticket holder to have a form of ID but I've never had this checked and in any case I always have a debit card on me at least and that's listed as acceptable.

 

[alastair]

It is, some operators do that.

I won't touch them though because I don't like the loss of rights, for example you need to bring some form of ID, and you also may not be able to change the ticket if you have a change of travel plans. Several people have had bad experiences and said they'll never use them again.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

Do you have a source for that?

The evidence I have been given, and in this post, suggests otherwise:

I bought some East Coast advances(on the EC website) a few weeks ago and selected print-at-home and had no problems at all. After booking and printing them I had to change one of the bookings and this was very easily done on the EC website & the new ticket printed out(you also have to present the old one).

On the train the TM "zapped" the hologram with a hand held device and that was it. On neither trip was any ID requested(although it clearly stated on the ticket that you were required to have it),nor was our 2-together railcard asked for.

Based on my experience I would be happy to do print-at-home again,but as a matter of interest what "rights" do you forfeit Yorkie?

 

[jon0844]

When collecting a single booking on my account at a TVM, I always (no exception) have to enter the reference.

Always have.

And I can't use any card. Says 'no booking found' if I try.

 

[maniacmartin]

najaB, I don't think it directly correlates to whether the 'any card' flag is set, in the way you describe.

 

[bb21]

Affected by various factors AFAIK. If a booking is set of "any card" then for obvious reasons popping your card in is not going to see the tickets printed automatically. Some TVMs, such as those operated by East Coast, do not print tickets automatically as a fraud prevention measure however many tickets are associated with the card, whoever the booking is with. Some makes of TVMs do not allow automatic printing of tickets, while others do.

 

[Taunton]

We get business travel tickets through a travel organiser who, of course, send out an email with their own lengthy reference number, and the required rail reference number, in relatively small type, down on page 2. I think many of our staff have turned up at the station and entered the wrong reference, and got nowhere. Page 2 just says "reference. It would be more sensible to put this in a bold box emphasising "you must key this in".

 

[najaB]

najaB, I don't think it directly correlates to whether the 'any card' flag is set, in the way you describe.

My posts have been based on personal experience, I don't work in the industry and would gratefully accept any insights from someone who knows more about it than I do (hint, hint).

What I've experienced is that in certain cases TVMs have spat out the tickets without me having to key in a reference number. In other cases I've had to type it in, the only difference being the booking engine used.

My preference, however, is to collect the tickets from the booking office window (silly, I know, but I prefer the hopper ticket stock rather than continuous roll) and they can 'see' the reservation associated with a card, so they are in some way linked.

 

[antharro]

I collect tickets all the time from all different TOC's , I'm not sure I have ever just put my card in and had my tickets printed without a reference number.

Maybe you could tell me with who and where you did this? I would be interested to know.

When I travel with SWT and collect from one of their machines, I have to provide a reference number. When I collect from a FGW machine, I don't need to put in the reference number, even if it's a ticket for a SWT journey.

 

[CockneySparrow]

I collect tickets all the time from all different TOC's , I'm not sure I have ever just put my card in and had my tickets printed without a reference number.

Maybe you could tell me with who and where you did this? I would be interested to know.


EDIT ***

Above answers my question perfectly. I learn something new everyday
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---


If you are travelling on Virgin on all legs of your journey you can select either print your own tickets or M- tickets where the tickets are on an app on your mobile so no need for collecting or printing.

Same here I have never just had the tickets just print out without entering the number, the only exception is if I went to the desk instead of the machine

With regards to M Tickets I don't think I would lime that, suppose the battery on my phone dies or I lose my phone, would rather prefer the orange tickets

 

[Robertj21a]

Same here I have never just had the tickets just print out without entering the number, the only exception is if I went to the desk instead of the machine

With regards to M Tickets I don't think I would lime that, suppose the battery on my phone dies or I lose my phone, would rather prefer the orange tickets

Many buses, and National Express coaches, have used M Tickets on phones for some time now with, seemingly, a good take-up.

 

[tsr]

Many buses, and National Express coaches, have used M Tickets on phones for some time now with, seemingly, a good take-up.

I wonder what proportion of those buses have regular ticket checks several hours into their journeys, however, when mobile phone batteries could well have died.

 

[CaptainHaddock]

Supposing I book an open ticket with no reservations online, then select the "print at home" option - what's to stop me printing multiple copies and using them all as separate tickets, even though I've only paid for one??

 

[Marton]

Supposing I book an open ticket with no reservations online, then select the "print at home" option - what's to stop me printing multiple copies and using them all as separate tickets, even though I've only paid for one??

Indeed, were self print extended from Advance, the only solution is a realtime link to national reservations using the Q Code. A second use means no ticket with all that that means.

The industries solution to break of journey?

 

[MisterT]

In the Netherlands, we have home print tickets, but the tickets are simply not bound to any train. You can take any train you want on that day.
Potentially, ticket fraud was possible in the early days of the home prints with the international home print tickets, but we solved that with an online check for the ticket inspector. The international tickets are usually valid for a return journey within one month.
When scanned by a ticket inspector, the ticket will be marked as 'validated' in an online system. When you try to make the same journey again on another day with a new print, the ticket inspector will see this and fine you for not having a valid ticket (and, depending on the situation, for fraud).

Edit @ radamfi: thanks for the clarification, I've edited my post a little bit
My apologies, my English is not great.