Advance without Reservation

[island]

Like this?

That link doesn't work for me.
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And before anyone tries to wheel out some kind of excuse about lack of space for all the detail required on tickets here, tickets in Ireland have to use up more space by printing a lot of stuff in two languages, yet still manage to get it all on one coupon.

Well to be honest IÉ tickets are only printed in English now, with the exception of the small print about "issued subject to conditions of carriage" which is bilingual, tickets to Galway, and, on some tickets, the ticket type. (Having eleventy billion types of ticket stock is a whole different issue.)

 

[trainophile]

It might be clearer to people if the "seat reservation" coupon was described as what it actually is, e.g. "timed train coupon" or words to that effect. On ATW (and I believe some other operators) there are just asterisks where any coach/seat number info should appear, so I wouldn't be surprised if infrequent travellers think "what's the point of this then?" and discard it.

Likewise having the journey ticket stamped "Valid only with reservation(s)" makes little sense when no reservation is shown. Amend this to read "Valid only with timed train coupon" and avoid any potential confusion.

Or, as previously suggested, print all the details on the main ticket, in the space vacated by leaving off "Valid only with reservation(s)", which seems far and away the best idea.

 

[yorksrob]

Indeed. Looking at my seat reservation, the only crucial bits for a passenger are the coach and seat number and date and time of travel, which could all fit on one line. Perhaps the other lines on a standard ticket could be moved closer together, or the reservation details could go on the orange strip along the bottom.

 

[Flamingo]

Occasionally, I'll be surprised when I ring up to check what train someone is booked on when they have lost their reservation, and they ARE on the correct train!

I usually excess (plus £10) if they admit they are on the wrong train, new ticket if they make me waste my time ringing to find out.

 

[fireincairo]

Travelling from Manc to London once I only received the ticket part of my ticket and then the receipt. I was quite new to travelling on advance tickets so I didn't pay much attention, thinking maybe it had changed.

Thankfully I had printed out my fast-ticket code and that had the time that my train was on it, the train manager was kind, reminded me to double check the ticket machines and carried on.

 

[jon0844]

Double sided tickets must be the solution, with the ability to detail restrictions and show reservations. Change the front to state there is more on the back and job done.

It may also encourage more advertising on one side of the magstrip now more people will check both sides.

 

[island]

That'll mean every single thing that prints tickets will have to be replaced. That should be fun!

 

[me123]

It's happened quite bit over the years anyway. Double sided tickets is possible, and in the interim surely it can be done either way until all the machines are replaced?

My only quibble is advertising; yes, more people will be looking on the back of the ticket, but if it's got reservation information and restriction details on it then any space for advertising would be restricted to a small fraction of the available space on the reverse of the ticket. The other issue is that reservations can be issued separately for non-Advance tickets, and obviously this would still require a separate ticket. You've then created two different ways of doing, which in itself my cause more confusion.

 

[jon0844]

Yes, you change the printers and once changed - print double sided. Older machines print on two tickets as now.

 

[4SRKT]

That link doesn't work for me.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---


Well to be honest IÉ tickets are only printed in English now, with the exception of the small print about "issued subject to conditions of carriage" which is bilingual, tickets to Galway, and, on some tickets, the ticket type. (Having eleventy billion types of ticket stock is a whole different issue.)

Aye, but I was referring to the original APTIS type tickets, which did have more Irish langauge on them.

 

[Squaddie]

I usually excess (plus £10) if they admit they are on the wrong train, new ticket if they make me waste my time ringing to find out.

A system in which the penalty paid depends upon how grumpy the ticket collector is feeling is simply wrong.

 

[yorkie]

A system in which the penalty paid depends upon how grumpy the ticket collector is feeling is simply wrong.

From what you quoted it sounds like how honest/genuine the customer is, and it sounds like showing discretion. That's not wrong at all in my opinion...

 

[LexyBoy]

A system in which the penalty paid depends upon how grumpy the ticket collector is feeling is simply wrong.

I don't see the harm in a little human interaction- what's the harm if Flamingo rewards an honest passenger by letting them off lightly?

 

[Flamingo]

A system in which the penalty paid depends upon how grumpy the ticket collector is feeling is simply wrong.

Well, I can go by the book and charge full open singles to everybody, if that's the majority view. I'm on commission, so I'm doing myself out of money every time I use my discretion.

Mind you, the delays waiting for BTP with the passengers who refuse/are unable to pay, both to my train and the others behind me waiting for me to clear the platform will be interesting as well.

Bottom line is, it depends on my mood and their attitude.

It's how life operates. Judges and police also do this, as the maximum penalty is rarely applied in criminal cases - and even mandatory penalties such as life imprisonment have a "discretionary" aspect applied by the judge.

 

[badzena]

Out of interest, what happens if it's the other way around? I've misplaced the actual ticket part, but have the reservation part for a Hull trains journey on Saturday...

If I print off my email booking reference, is there any way it can be traced?

 

[Solent&Wessex]

Out of interest, what happens if it's the other way around? I've misplaced the actual ticket part, but have the reservation part for a Hull trains journey on Saturday...

If I print off my email booking reference, is there any way it can be traced?

I wouldn't accept that as there is no way of knowing whether the ticket part hasn't been altered and used before or after on another train, handed to someone else, is railcard discounted or not, to name but a few examples.