E tickets not available

[tornado]

I've noticed that for certain routes I take some of the rail company booking engines will allow me to buy e tickets, and others won't, for the exact same route.

In one case, the company running the service on that route won't, but another company will!

Does anyone know why this is?

Also e ticket formats seem to be a minefield. I prefer the ones that allow you to download the standard .pkpass files which can be used in any digital wallet app on your phone, but some try to do their own non-standard format which is annoying.

 

[_toommm_]

There’s generally two types of mobile tickets: E-tickets and M-tickets. M-tickets are the more restrictive type whereupon you must show it in the respective app (I believe Northern still do this). The most flexibility comes from E-tickets, which you can show in the app/show or print as a PDF file, with some companies (LNER and TheTrainLine to name a few) allowing the pkpass format which you mentioned.

 

[Wallsendmag]

eTickets aren't mobile tickets hence the name eTicket rather than mTicket etickets do not need a mobile phone. Until last week when all TOCs were told to enable as many eTickets as possible by the DfT the formats available were down to TOC choice.

 

[35B]

eTickets aren't mobile tickets hence the name eTicket rather than mTicket etickets do not need a mobile phone. Until last week when all TOCs were told to enable as many eTickets as possible by the DfT the formats available were down to TOC choice.

What have DfT told the TOCs to do? And does it apply to the eTicket laggards like Merseyrail or SE, or the flows that GTR have been resisting due to gate issues?

 

[alistairlees]

I've noticed that for certain routes I take some of the rail company booking engines will allow me to buy e tickets, and others won't, for the exact same route.

In one case, the company running the service on that route won't, but another company will!

Does anyone know why this is?

Also e ticket formats seem to be a minefield. I prefer the ones that allow you to download the standard .pkpass files which can be used in any digital wallet app on your phone, but some try to do their own non-standard format which is annoying.

Could you say what route you found this on? I couldn't agree more about the problems that deviation from the standard way of doing things cause!

 

[yorkie]

Yes once we know why the journey is, we can look up what should be available.

The ticket type would be useful too; it's possible to have some fares on a given flow being enabled for e tickets and other fares on the same flow not being enabled.

 

[Hadders]

Some anomalies with GTR.

Stevenage - London Terminals Anytime Day and Off Peak Day Returns are eticket enables but etickets for the weekend Super Off Peak tickets aren't available.

 

[trentvalley]

Birmingham New Street to Shrewsbury has an anomaly.

On a booking engine when you're after an off peak ticket - not tied to a TOC or Advance - then you may be offered an E-Ticket if you select a WMR service or an M-Ticket if you select a Tfw service even though both are valid on each any TOC on the route incl Avanti (as long as not gold card discounted)

 

[Paul Kelly]

On a booking engine when you're after an off peak ticket - not tied to a TOC or Advance - then you may be offered an E-Ticket if you select a WMR service or an M-Ticket if you select a Tfw service even though both are valid on each any TOC on the route incl Avanti (as long as not gold card discounted)

The fares routed TFWRS ONLY are issued specifically from New Street rather than BIRMINGHAM STNS and are only fulfilable on M-ticket according to the RCS data. Which booking engine are you looking at? Maybe it has a bug that it's somehow inheriting this "M-ticket only" restriction when you select the ANY PERMITTED fares instead?

 

[Starmill]

The fares routed TFWRS ONLY are issued specifically from New Street rather than BIRMINGHAM STNS and are only fulfilable on M-ticket according to the RCS data.

There doesn't seem to be good consistency. Ticket offices issuing etickets do not seem at all consistent with that data for example.

 

[Wallsendmag]

There doesn't seem to be good consistency. Ticket offices issuing etickets do not seem at all consistent with that data for example.

There was a very large RCS update two weeks ago so some more routes should now be available.

 

[tornado]

Just to respond that several routes where I couldn't buy e tickets with certain TOCs are now available, so problem solved!

 

[Starmill]

There was a very large RCS update two weeks ago so some more routes should now be available.

Indeed that sounds good. I was referring to ticket sales in 2019, though. I ought have added.

 

[tornado]

Does anyone know of a TOC mobile phone app that does the following:

• Remembers Railcard
• Remembers Credit Card
• Remembers Account Login
• Allows you to buy a ticket with just a few clicks
• Delivers your e-ticket in a sensible format

Having tried several over the past months, some excel on one of the points, but none seem to cover all of them! It's strange how something so simple can't be done right.

Hopefully, with the current situation, they might put a bit more effort into this area.

A quick look at the google Play store reveals the following ratings for TOC apps (out of 5 stars):

Avanti - 4.7
C2C - 1.9
Chiltern - 4.1
CrossCountry - 4.6
East Midlands - 2.5
GrandCentral - 4.1
GWR 3.7
Greater Anglia - 2.2
Hull Trains - 3.5
LNER - 2.1
London Northwestern - 2.1
MerseyRail - 2.6
Northern - 4.6
South Western - 3.4
Southeastern - 2.1
Southern - 1.9
Thameslink - 1.6
TPE - 2.5
TfW - 4.5
Scotrail - 2.7
West Midlands - 2.7

 

[Wallsendmag]

The LNER app is evolving quickly with a lot of changes coming very soon so that number may be based on the earlier version which was more or less a link to the main site

 

[Starmill]

It's strange how something so simple can't be done right.

The wider railway and industry is wonderful at doing this with its retail technologies, from ticket machines to ticket office machines, smartcards, apps Pay As You Go, you name it.

 

[infobleep]

Just to respond that several routes where I couldn't buy e tickets with certain TOCs are now available, so problem solved!

But not solved everywhere. In time it will be. By which point I probably won't need to buy the ticket I sometimes wished to purchase as an eTicket, as I'm not travelling as much.

Edit: I thought I was replying to another thread on eTickets. Obviously it solved the problem outlined here.

 

[infobleep]

The LNER app is evolving quickly with a lot of changes coming very soon so that number may be based on the earlier version which was more or less a link to the main site

I wonder how many months it will take for low ratings to rise. If I see an app with a low score rating it is a turn off for me, even though it is possible the app has been greatly improved.

 

[mirodo]

The LNER app is evolving quickly with a lot of changes coming very soon so that number may be based on the earlier version which was more or less a link to the main site

The ability to pay by Apple Pay would be greatly appreciated, as would an easy way to view and email expense receipts. For business travel, I tend to use Trainline as it offers both those features.

 

[mirodo]

I wonder how many months it will take for low ratings to rise. If I see an app with a low score rating it is a turn off for me, even though it is possible the app has been greatly improved.

The ratings can be reset by the app owner on release of a new version:

This summary rating is specific to each territory on the App Store and you can reset it when you release a new version of your app. However, we recommend using this feature sparingly; while resetting the summary rating can ensure that it reflects the most current version of your app — useful if an update addresses users’ previous concerns — having few ratings may discourage potential users from downloading your app. In addition, keep in mind that resetting your summary rating does not reset your app’s written reviews. Past reviews will continue to display on your product page.

Ratings, Reviews, and Responses - App Store - Apple Developer

Learn about engaging with customers who provide ratings and reviews of your app on the App Store.

developer.apple.com

 

[tornado]

The new LNER app is actually fairly decent, it can save you tickets to Google Pay or Apple Wallet. However it made no attempt to save my payment method for next time, although I did use Paypal so maybe it saves credit cards. Facebook messenger integration was an option but didn't work. But overall a step above other apps.

It also claims to send you a text message/notification for the platforms of your trains. Again, nothing, although this information is available on the national rail app.

 

[infobleep]

The ratings can be reset by the app owner on release of a new version:

Ratings, Reviews, and Responses - App Store - Apple Developer

Learn about engaging with customers who provide ratings and reviews of your app on the App Store.

developer.apple.com

How interesting. I didn't know that.