Should rail tickets be tied to a specific passenger?

[SeanG]

Moderator note: split from

Buying tickets for others with a Railcard discount

If I buy a ticket for someone who holds a Railcard, for example if I buy a Senior Railcard discounted ticket, could a TOC view me with suspicion and/or attempt to put the burden on me to somehow demonstrate I didn't buy the ticket for myself? Has anyone been in the position of a TOC accusing...

www.railforums.co.uk

Could we not adopt the practice of putting names on tickets as is done abroad? ie I buy a ticket for myself and my name is printed on it/above the QR code, I buy a ticket for Mrs X (with a railcar discount) and this has her name printed etc.

No need to show ID as long as the ticket is valid etc, however this would prevent the above issues in the future

 

[Haywain]

Could we not adopt the practice of putting names on tickets as is done abroad? ie I buy a ticket for myself and my name is printed on it/above the QR code, I buy a ticket for Mrs X (with a railcar discount) and this has her name printed etc.

No need to show ID as long as the ticket is valid etc, however this would prevent the above issues in the future

No, it's a bad idea. Unused tickets can be transferred, so there would be a need to build a means of changing the name on the ticket. And there is no requirement to carry ID in this country, so how would you get round that? And buying tickets at a TVM, add in the time spent typing a name in...

 

[Watershed]

I don't see that there would be anything wrong with giving people the option of doing this - it's standard practice in lots of other countries. But it certainly shouldn't become mandatory.

I also wouldn't trust the industry not to still try and penalise people who lose/forget their ticket or Railcard.

 

[zwk500]

I don't really see what issue this is solving? The problems with being entitled to a railcard discount only arise when travelling with the ticket. If there is a question, the only thing that matters is that the person holding a ticket has the matching railcard.

If you start allocating names to tickets it will make the purchasing process longer, increase potential for errors, introduce more data protection problems, and achieve little or no verification whatsoever unless costly cross-checks with railcard databases are introduced.

 

[30907]

You could add the option "I am buying for someone else" (do some sites already do thus?) without specifying a name - this would sufficiently cover the specific issue in the original thread.
Naming a person would imply that they needed to carry ID which is OK-ish when a Photocard is required but not otherwise, as it is not a requirement here to have ID when out and about (unlike the rest of Europe).

 

[D365]

Absolutely not. I'm fed up as it is with Ryanair extortion - £115 to change a passenger!

 

[Hadders]

Absolutely not. It really shouldn't be necessary to give a name at all to travel by train.

 

[bramling]

Moderator note: split from

Buying tickets for others with a Railcard discount

If I buy a ticket for someone who holds a Railcard, for example if I buy a Senior Railcard discounted ticket, could a TOC view me with suspicion and/or attempt to put the burden on me to somehow demonstrate I didn't buy the ticket for myself? Has anyone been in the position of a TOC accusing...

www.railforums.co.uk

Could we not adopt the practice of putting names on tickets as is done abroad? ie I buy a ticket for myself and my name is printed on it/above the QR code, I buy a ticket for Mrs X (with a railcar discount) and this has her name printed etc.

No need to show ID as long as the ticket is valid etc, however this would prevent the above issues in the future

For me it would add an extra layer of inconvenience. In my household it’s not uncommon for one to walk down the station and buy a PRIV ticket in advance for use by the other, having names on tickets would stop this which at times would be a thorough nuisance.

 

[Topological]

I do not see how names on tickets would help anything.

If someone has a railcard discount they need to produce the railcard. Same with any other discount.

I know they would not, but whenever I am asked to put a name on something it makes me think someone wants to track me.

 

[skyhigh]

You could add the option "I am buying for someone else" (do some sites already do thus?) without specifying a name - this would suffic8ently cover the specific issue in the original thread.

But surely someone who was deliberately fare evading by applying a Railcard discount would always select that option? So it wouldn't solve anything at all?

 

[Topological]

Another thought.

Consider a situation in which the ticket is "found" by someone and then used in a way which is not valid. That would presumably incriminate the person named on the ticket for whichever invalid usage.

Such a scenario would say that it is a way to make tickets less valid if stolen, but for that it has to be combined with non-transferable and ID checks.

I cannot see how it helps to have names on the tickets.

 

[trei2k]

I agree with others - all you are doing is (i) adding more complexity where not needed, (ii) railway will probably find a way to use this information that is detrimental to the passenger and (iii) it adds more bureaucracy to a system that is screaming out to be 'simplified'.

 

[miklcct]

This is unworkable unless ID is mandatory, which is not the case in the UK. Even if ID is mandatory, it is impractical as it will be very complicated for people to buy tickets.

China is an example where rail tickets are named, and it is a hassle for a visitor to travel because the machines are not set up to read foreign passports / identification documents. For PAYG systems, it will require pre-registration of bank cards to allow that.

 

[furnessvale]

No, it's a bad idea. Unused tickets can be transferred, so there would be a need to build a means of changing the name on the ticket. And there is no requirement to carry ID in this country, so how would you get round that? And buying tickets at a TVM, add in the time spent typing a name in...

Has bylaw 21 been abolished?

 

[jfollows]

Has bylaw 21 been abolished?

As in https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/railway-byelaws/railway-byelaws

21. Unauthorised buying or selling of tickets​

1. subject to Byelaw 21(4), no person shall sell or buy any ticket
2. subject to Byelaw 21(4), no person shall transfer or receive any unused or partly used ticket, intending that any person shall use it for travelling unless the conditions of use for the ticket specifically permit such transfer
3. subject to Byelaw 21(4), no person shall knowingly use any ticket which has been obtained in breach of Byelaw 21
4. the sale or transfer by, or the purchase or receipt from, an authorised person in the course of his duties or from an authorised ticket machine is excepted from the provisions of Byelaw 21

and https://assets.nationalrail.co.uk/e...572570/National_Rail_Conditions_of_Travel.pdf

5. Transfer of Tickets
5.1 A Ticket may be transferred by the person who bought that Ticket to another person, but only if:

1. 5.1.1 the Ticket has not been made out in the passenger's name (which includes where the passenger is identified by a designated Railcard, photocard or other identifying means); and
2. 5.1.2 the journey has not begun (for example, if you intend to transfer a return Ticket you must not have used the outward portion of that return Ticket, or if you intend to transfer a Season Ticket you must not have used it for any journeys already); and
3. 5.1.3 the transfer is not a resale for more than the price paid for the Ticket by the person who first purchased it from a Train Company or a Licensed Retailer.

5.2 A Ticket which is validly transferred remains subject to all the conditions of travel originally applicable to it.

 

[furnessvale]

As in https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/railway-byelaws/railway-byelaws

Thank you. My question was a tad rhetorical.

 

[jfollows]

Thank you. My question was a tad rhetorical.

I didn’t know what you were referring to, so had to look it up, so I posted it to save others having to do the same!