Trivia: tickets that can *ONLY* be CCST

[81A]

I was just wondering if anyone knows other tickets that can only be issued as credit card sized tickets (CCST). (or knows alternative formats available for any I have listed)

So far, I have the following:
Plusbus season tickets (one of the last types of season not on smart card/s ticket, possibly except Brighton?)-edit: it seems at least some can be paper roll tickets-thanks @Haywain
U-zone tickets (eg. Oxford to London Underground Zone 1)
Some Day Travelcards (groupsave, Family/Two Together/Network railcard discounted, most super off peak/evening out/Sunday out)-edit: it seems the Network railcard CCST only restriction only applies if using the railcard for a group, single travellers can load onto smart car-thanks @Edvid
Most tickets involving travel on Merseyrail
Maltese Cross tickets (including tube travel across London as part of a national rail journey, say Dover to Reading via London)
GWR Gatwick Flyaway tickets
Station issued railcards (some regional railcards are only issued at stations)

I think the U zone/Maltese cross/Merseyrail tickets will be barcode enabled when TFL/Merseyrail update their gates over the next few years, but I am not so sure about the future of the others (withdrawal? alternative format made available? CCST printers remaining to support these few tickets?)

 

[Haywain]

Plusbus season tickets (one of the last types of season not on smart card/s ticket, possibly except Brighton?)

Are you sure they can't be issued on PRT?

 

[81A]

Are you sure they can't be issued on PRT?

Oh, I forgot weekly (and monthly?) seasons can be PRT! CCST only would still apply to plus bus seasons for more than a month though, wouldn’t it? I thought that season tickets for over a month had to be on a smart card, s-ticket or the special blue RSP 9699 stock?

 

[8ace]

My annual Brighton PlusBus was issued on orange 9599 stock. Last years was the blue 9699.

 

[Edvid]

Some Day Travelcards (groupsave, Family/Two Together/Network railcard discounted, most super off peak/evening out/Sunday out)

I successfully used a Network Railcard-discounted outboundary Z1-6 Off Peak Day Travelcard on ITSO (GTR Key Smartcard) not that long ago.

 

[81A]

I successfully used a Network Railcard-discounted outboundary Z1-6 Off Peak Day Travelcard on ITSO (GTR Key Smartcard) not that long ago.

Ah, I thought Network discounted travelcards could not go on smart cards due to the ability to add other passengers using the same railcard. Good to know that for single people ITSO is an option and that CCST is only necessary if actually using the discount for a group.

 

[tomh72]

I don't see why that would be any different? Don't you just buy multiple travelcards in that case (obviously each one would have to go on a separate smartcard) and then if asked then somebody needs to be able to show a network railcard?

The tickets aren't linked to a specific railcard and as far as I know don't need to be bought together - you just need to be travelling together when you use them.

Travelcards are about the only tickets involving London that you can get an an ITSO because single/return tickets to a zone and tickets with a maltese cross aren't supported.

 

[chrisp37]

What about Night Riviera sleeper reservation tickets? I've only ever had them on CCST. They don't appear to be available as e-tickets at least.

 

[FenMan]

Station X to Boundary Zone 6 and vice versa tickets are CCST only I believe. Happy to be corrected though.

 

[Wallsendmag]

Looking at our postal fulfilment it seems some GC owned products are CCST only

 

[81A]

I don't see why that would be any different? Don't you just buy multiple travelcards in that case (obviously each one would have to go on a separate smartcard) and then if asked then somebody needs to be able to show a network railcard?

The tickets aren't linked to a specific railcard and as far as I know don't need to be bought together - you just need to be travelling together when you use them.

Travelcards are about the only tickets involving London that you can get an an ITSO because single/return tickets to a zone and tickets with a maltese cross aren't supported.

I think it is a fulfillment limitation, all the websites and ticket vending machines (TVMs) I know won't allow loading onto two different smart cards in one transaction. It is possible to get round by doing two or more transactions if all are adults as websites/TVMs will sell Network Railcard tickets for one adult.

It becomes more difficult when the discount requires people to be travelling together in order to be used (two together, family, children using the network card and groupsave). A ticket office might be able to get round this though?

 

[Wallsendmag]

I think it is a fulfillment limitation, all the websites and ticket vending machines (TVMs) I know won't allow loading onto two different smart cards in one transaction. It is possible to get round by doing two or more transactions if all are adults as websites/TVMs will sell Network Railcard tickets for one adult.

It becomes more difficult when the discount requires people to be travelling together in order to be used (two together, family, children using the network card and groupsave). A ticket office might be able to get round this though?

I think you'd have to do separate transactions with Worldline mTIS but I may be wrong

 

[Bungle965]

What about Night Riviera sleeper reservation tickets? I've only ever had them on CCST. They don't appear to be available as e-tickets at least.

PRT is fine

 

[81A]

I think you'd have to do separate transactions with Worldline mTIS but I may be wrong

If so, maybe ticket offices work the same as TVMs/online...

One would think it would be possible to programme the websites so you could choose a different smart card number for each person at the fulfillment method selection page, but maybe not...

Sorting out ITSO smart cards for groups (or allowing barcode Travel cards) combined with barcode readers on TFL gates (for Maltese cross/u zone) would go towards ending the need for magstripe readers on TFL.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 27 May 2026 ==

Station X to Boundary Zone 6 and vice versa tickets are CCST only I believe. Happy to be corrected though.

I'm pretty sure some are enabled for E tickets (and PRT?) now.

 

[Wallsendmag]

If so, maybe ticket offices work the same as TVMs/online...

One would think it would be possible to programme the websites so you could choose a different smart card number for each person at the fulfillment method selection page, but maybe not...

Sorting out ITSO smart cards for groups (or allowing barcode Travel cards) combined with barcode readers on TFL gates (for Maltese cross/u zone) would go towards ending the need for magstripe readers on TFL.

You need to use a Smartcard that matches the site's owner, that goes back to STNR days

 

[81A]

You need to use a Smartcard that matches the site's owner, that goes back to STNR days

Given this requirement, are there any websites that allow group bookings to be fulfilled to multiple (of the site owner's) smart cards in one transaction?

 

[Wallsendmag]

Given this requirement, are there any websites that allow group bookings to be fulfilled to multiple (of the site owner's) smart cards in one transaction?

I'm not sure , we implemented one card per account.

 

[johntea]

Not *technically* a ticket I guess but...Promise to Pay? (Northern)

 

[81A]

I'm not sure , we implemented one card per account.

If there aren’t any, that would make Day Travelcards with group discounts CCST only in practice (with the possible exception of ticket office issues). Sorting that out (or, as above, barcode Travelcards) seems necessary before TFL can bin off theirs Magstripe readers…

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 28 May 2026 ==

Not *technically* a ticket I guess but...Promise to Pay? (Northern)

Aren’t a few Northern TVMs PRT enabled? If so, I would imagine they issue promise to pay on PRT?

 

[Wallsendmag]

Aren’t a few Northern TVMs PRT enabled? If so, I would imagine they issue promise to pay on PRT?

I think they've been set to CCST only. I was part of the industry project team but that was a couple of years ago

 

[81A]

I think they've been set to CCST only. I was part of the industry project team but that was a couple of years ago

Oh, that is another one then.

So far, I think the updated list is:
PlusBus seasons (for more than a month, possibly excluding Brighton-thanks @Haywain @8ace )
U zone tickets
Maltese cross tickets
Day Travelcards using a discount that requires passengers to travel together (possible to get round in some cases by doing multiple transactions-thanks @Edvid @tomh72 @Wallsendmag)
Promise to Pay-thanks @johntea and @Wallsendmag
GWR Gatwick Flyaway
Some Grand central owned products-thanks @Wallsendmag
Most tickets involving Merseyrail
Station issued railcards (some railcards are station issue only)
Am I missing any (or are any of the above wrong)?

 

[smsm1]

It's been a while since I've done a bike reservation in a train, but they've always required the ticket collection CCST stock in the past. Has that changed recently?

 

[81A]

It's been a while since I've done a bike reservation in a train, but they've always required the ticket collection CCST stock in the past. Has that changed recently?

I believe they are still paper only. They may be fulfillable to PRT though?

 

[Bungle965]

It's been a while since I've done a bike reservation in a train, but they've always required the ticket collection CCST stock in the past. Has that changed recently?

They can issued on PRT

 

[OscarH]

It's been a while since I've done a bike reservation in a train, but they've always required the ticket collection CCST stock in the past. Has that changed recently?

There's no reason they couldn't be issued as an eTicket, if it isn't permitted its purely beaurocracy - especially if PRT is allowed as they're essentially the same thing

 

[Bungle965]

There's no reason they couldn't be issued as an eTicket, if it isn't permitted its purely beaurocracy - especially if PRT is allowed as they're essentially the same thing

I'm fairly certain E-Ticket bike reservations won't be that far away.
@Wallsendmag will probably have more information as I'm sure there's a trial with LNER

 

[cool110]

Wasn't the reason for bike reservations being paper only because some TOCs required them being attached to the bike

 

[smsm1]

Wasn't the reason for bike reservations being paper only because some TOCs required them being attached to the bike

I suspect that was from the days of the separate guards van, however they have been phased out and you have the bike inside the main passenger carriage now.

 

[Wallsendmag]

I'm fairly certain E-Ticket bike reservations won't be that far away.
@Wallsendmag will probably have more information as I'm sure there's a trial with LNER

As far as I'm aware we already offer them.

 

[OscarH]

As far as I'm aware we already offer them.

I had a feeling some TOCs already did. I seem to recall there is some data about where it's permitted, although it's in completely the wrong place. I'll try and check tomorrow