Watch out for your railcard app

[kristiang85]

I always print tickets where I can;I just find it a lot easier to produce a slip of paper, rather than faff about in my phone when the request comes. Not to mention automatic ticket scanners sometimes have troulbe with screens over paper.

Now I know many here will tell me I'm wasting my time, but its what works for me and I'll keep it that way as long as I can. If I lose a piece of paper (which I never do), then the electronic version is there for backup.

 

[Bletchleyite]

I always print tickets where I can;I just find it a lot easier to produce a slip of paper, rather than faff about in my phone when the request comes. Not to mention automatic ticket scanners sometimes have troulbe with screens over paper.

Now I know many here will tell me I'm wasting my time, but its what works for me and I'll keep it that way as long as I can. If I lose a piece of paper (which I never do), then the electronic version is there for backup.

Unsurprisingly I don't agree with you, but the strength of the e-ticket format is that you can print them and I can put them in my Apple Wallet and everybody's happy.

 

[infobleep]

I always print tickets where I can;I just find it a lot easier to produce a slip of paper, rather than faff about in my phone when the request comes. Not to mention automatic ticket scanners sometimes have troulbe with screens over paper.

Now I know many here will tell me I'm wasting my time, but its what works for me and I'll keep it that way as long as I can. If I lose a piece of paper (which I never do), then the electronic version is there for backup.

I rarely print out tickets as I find it more of faff to print them vers finding them on my phone and it works for me.

I do however have a lot CCSTs but that is because it's the fastest way to buy a walk up ticket without the need for a journey planner.

Now that I can get 8% back towards my mobile phone contract though, if I book via LNER, I will likely be buying through them online, even if it's slower. Which in most cases it will be as I'm buying walk up tickets.

 

[Bletchleyite]

Now that I can get 8% back towards my mobile phone contract though, if I book via LNER, I will likely be buying through them online, even if it's slower. Which in most cases it will be as I'm buying walk up tickets.

I find buying an e-ticket on an app takes no longer than buying a paper ticket at a TVM. It's about the same number of taps, and you can just select any journey you like if it's a walk up ticket.

I often do it while walking to the station.

 

[gswindale]

The last but one time I went into London for work purposes, I'd have probably been better off having the ticket on my phone rather than a piece of paper.

I'd put both my phone (in it's case) and ticket into my inside jacket pocket for safety and it was fine leaving Reading and on arrival at Paddington, but thereafter due to it being in close proximity to my phone it refused to operate any of the barriers on the underground.

Obviously I now know to keep them in separate pockets, but ideally the technology needs to be improved so that these "paper" tickets do not fail to work in certain circumstances.

 

[OscarH]

Luckily, most TOC etickets don't require any apps - they're simply PDFs which can be accessed via email or downloaded into the wallets on Android/IOS.

I don't think a issuing system is compliant if it doesn't issue a PDF for an e-Ticket, so all TOC apps should definitely do that

(note that eTickets are distinct from mTickets in this context, which some still sell unfortunately, despite being largely defunct)

 

[sor]

The last but one time I went into London for work purposes, I'd have probably been better off having the ticket on my phone rather than a piece of paper.

I'd put both my phone (in it's case) and ticket into my inside jacket pocket for safety and it was fine leaving Reading and on arrival at Paddington, but thereafter due to it being in close proximity to my phone it refused to operate any of the barriers on the underground.

Obviously I now know to keep them in separate pockets, but ideally the technology needs to be improved so that these "paper" tickets do not fail to work in certain circumstances.

which is where e-tickets (or effectively the same thing printed by a ticket machine) come in. The technology improvement is by getting rid of the magnetic stripe that barriers normally rely on, but full adoption can't take place until TfL upgrade their end.

 

[Western Sunset]

I sem to recall we had a similar discussion about digital Railcards being shown to expire a day early. In fact I contacted them to point this out and thought it'd been sorted. Obviously not...

 

[infobleep]

I find buying an e-ticket on an app takes no longer than buying a paper ticket at a TVM. It's about the same number of taps, and you can just select any journey you like if it's a walk-up ticket.

I often do it while walking to the station.

On the TMV I select:
Station going to,
Return
Type of ticket
Discount button
Annual Gold Card
Pay

On a journey planner, I need to think about which journey I select and make sure I select the right journey to get the right ticket type I want unless journey planners allow you to select the ticket type and then the journey.

Some journey planners are also not that comprehensive and only show the fastest services so might not show what you want.

I accept this forum ticketing site is better in this respect but it's just as easy to buy from a TMV in such circumstances.

 

[Haywain]

On a journey planner, I need to think about which journey I select and make sure I select the right journey to get the right ticket type I want unless journey planners allow you to select the ticket type and then the journey.

But you don't have to go to a station and stand in front of a TVM to do that.

 

[infobleep]

But you don't have to go to a station and stand in front of a TVM to do that.

But I don't need to go to a station to use a journey planner as I can go to the station and buy my ticket without a journey planner step via a TMV.

 

[Bletchleyite]

But I don't need to go to a station to use a journey planner as I can go to the station and buy my ticket without a journey planner step via a TMV.

You need to spend time at the TVM, albeit measured in seconds (about 30 seconds I reckon), to buy your ticket.

I don't, because I bought it while walking to the station, or over breakfast before leaving, or whatever.

Thus I save 30 seconds when it matters by using time when it doesn't.

But talking about the number of taps, because some things are preset (e.g. if I last bought Bletchley-Euston that'll still be selected, and my Network Railcard will be specified too) I think I'd be on the same number of taps as you.

 

[infobleep]

I just tried LNER Web Site on my mobile and I found more off putting than a TMV. It may simply be I've not used it enough. I am dyslexic.

Anyway I won't go on as it's going off this topic too much.

 

[fandroid]

The last but one time I went into London for work purposes, I'd have probably been better off having the ticket on my phone rather than a piece of paper.

I'd put both my phone (in it's case) and ticket into my inside jacket pocket for safety and it was fine leaving Reading and on arrival at Paddington, but thereafter due to it being in close proximity to my phone it refused to operate any of the barriers on the underground.

Obviously I now know to keep them in separate pockets, but ideally the technology needs to be improved so that these "paper" tickets do not fail to work in certain circumstances.

I gave up on paper Travelcards for this very reason, although I'm sure it was a ticket gate at Liverpool Street that regularly mangled the magstripe in my case