Fare Collection Machines

[USATubeFan]

Hello,

I am new to this forum. I was wondering if anyone knew the maker of the fare collection machines used in the Tube and much of the network rail services. And if this is possible, where one can find these for a price. I did not find anything of the sort on eBay.

Regards, Tanner

 

[Monty]

Much of the Ticket Vending Machines (TVMs) you see on the national network are made by a company called Scheidt & Bachmann, I can't speak for the tube as their machines are quite different to the National Rail examples.

 

[USATubeFan]

Hello,

Thank you, but I think I may have explained the machine wrong. I am looking for the machine that one scans their card over.

 

[Hartington]

I think you're referring to the reader pad (usually yellow, occasionally pink) that you see around the London Underground network. Most obviously they are seen on the entry/exit gates but they also appear stand-alone and attached to Ticket Vending machines.

If so, they are Near Field Communications devices and it's quite possible your smartphone already has one although whether it is passive or active could be relevant depending on what you're trying to achieve.

The question of manufacture is likely to be complex. The actual gate or ticket machine manufacturer will have probably bought in the chip behind the reader. The Oyster Card technology is from http://www.mifare.net/ but I doubt they actually manufactured the chip - simply programmed it.

 

[LexyBoy]

The technology used in London (Oyster Card) uses readers supplied by Cubic as far as I am aware. I doubt that you would be sold one without being affiliated with TfL in some way - though as noted above the technology to read contactless cards is readily available. You probably wouldn't (legally) be able to view or alter the contents of a card though.

Outside of London there aren't any significant uses of "smartcard" systems yet although several train operating companies are introducing systems based on ITSO architecture, as required by their franchise commitments. Most (I think?) bus operators across the country have ITSO readers too, as free bus passes for over-65s are in this format. I don’t know who makes these though.

 

[USATubeFan]

My apologies, I am referring the whole entry gate, not specifically the Near Field Communication piece of the gate, but rather, the whole gate. Does TFL sell (or give away) these machines when they break down?
I also have an entirely new question about what TFL does with their old carriages. I think I may start a new thread for that, though.