GTR new booking engine

[Stats]

GTR have launched their new booking engine. The mixing desk has gone, and instead in comes a huge map just in case you didn't know where you were starting and finishing your journey.

It is certainly different from anything out there. I wonder who designed it? Its going to take some getting used to. I'm not sure whether I like it or not.

 

[Bletchleyite]

Where can I find this? I get the regular mixing desk.

 

[Stats]

Those already with an account should have got an email. Those without can go to Thameslink or Southern websites and scroll down to the bottom and click on beta - try our new way to buy tickets. I think you might need to register before you can access it.

 

[talldave]

It seems they're targeting people who were foolish enough to sign up for The Key smartcard.

What amazes me is that apparently I shall no longer be able to buy paper tickets:

"You will still be able to log in and buy paper tickets from your old account if you need to, but only for a little while longer."

I've used my smartcard for one journey - it's useless to me. Why do these idiots at GTR think I suddenly want to stop buying paper tickets, since that's all I ever do? They really are the most incompetent bunch of moronic idiots I have ever encountered - that puts them ahead of Santander and npower by miles!!!

I'll try phoning them and ask them why they're being so utterly stupid.

 

[Bletchleyite]

What amazes me is that apparently I shall no longer be able to buy paper tickets:

Doesn't look that way to me. I think what they are saying is that you can purchase only paper tickets on the old style setup, whereas you can purchase both paper and smartcard tickets on the new style setup. Given that most TOCs don't accept "the key" it would be difficult for it to be otherwise.

Had a quick go, and the one thing I like about it is the detail on ticket types including break of journey. Other than that it's clunky and wastes screen real-estate on the pointless map.

 

[talldave]

Doesn't look that way to me. I think what they are saying is that you can purchase only paper tickets on the old style setup, whereas you can purchase both paper and smartcard tickets on the new style setup. Given that most TOCs don't accept "the key" it would be difficult for it to be otherwise.

Had a quick go, and the one thing I like about it is the detail on ticket types including break of journey. Other than that it's clunky and wastes screen real-estate on the pointless map.

You're right, although that's not the impression the email gives, since it only talks about smartcard tickets until that passing comment about paper tickets I pasted above.

20 minutes on the 'phone to Southern confirms that I'm not being forced into a smartcard only world. But they agreed the email could have been worded better.

 

[Paul Kelly]

It's a nice layout and quite fast too (maybe because not many people are using it yet?), but it isn't really doing anything radically different; it's just a new front-end rather than a new booking engine. And I doubt Virgin will be happy that it's telling people they can break and resume their journey (see attached) when travelling on the 0738 from Lancaster to Euston on an £89.60 Off-Peak Single with a 3A Restriction (break of journey not permitted), when if they start in Preston on the same train Virgin will be looking for £170 for an Anytime Single...

 

[maniacmartin]

Here is the full body of the email

Welcome to our new way to find and buy tickets online

Dear Martin,

For a seamless journey with your key smartcard, start using our new way to buy tickets online, whether you're on a desktop, tablet or mobile.
What's changed?
• It's easier to view best value fares plus Railcard and GroupSave discounts
• Buy tickets for any UK journey with ease
• Map feature to clearly illustrate your journey
• Our updated app lets you access your ticket wallet offline
• Buy tickets on your laptop, tablet or mobile

How do I access it?

All you need to do is reset your password using your unique link in the button below and all your personal details will then be available for you to continue with your purchase as usual.
Alternatively, you can click on the URL below the button or copy and paste it into a browser and reset your password that way, whichever you prefer.

Get started
[...URL REMOVED...]

Can I still use my old account?

You will still be able to log in and buy paper tickets from your old account if you need to, but only for a little while longer. For all your smartcard tickets, please make sure you reset your password and try our new way to buy.

We're here to help if you have any problems buying your tickets online, just get in touch with our Customer Services team on 0345 127 2920. Also, you can share your feedback so we can continue improving your online experience.

The map view is pretty cool too

 

[stut]

How are you all managing to get on to this site? It tells me I needs to reset my password, so I click on the link, and it says it will email me. It hasn't... From the looks of Twitter, I'm far from the only one with this experience...

 

[Bletchleyite]

It's a nice layout and quite fast too (maybe because not many people are using it yet?), but it isn't really doing anything radically different; it's just a new front-end rather than a new booking engine. And I doubt Virgin will be happy that it's telling people they can break and resume their journey (see attached) when travelling on the 0738 from Lancaster to Euston on an £89.60 Off-Peak Single with a 3A Restriction (break of journey not permitted), when if they start in Preston on the same train Virgin will be looking for £170 for an Anytime Single...

I wonder if that's a general data issue (the text contains the restriction but the data feed doesn't)? It does seem it is showing BoJ restrictions wrongly for a vast swathe of tickets, e.g. LM Only SVS which also does not permit it but is shown as permitting it.

 

[Starmill]

I really like the cutesy symbols for train facilities - look at the one for 'Meal served to passengers in First Class'

 

[andrewkeith5]

Some interesting observations:

- Even though I have an account, southern never emailed me to tell me about this.
- I can't actually use it, because it forces you to reset your password but fails to send me an email.
- It is utterly disgusting to use - you shouldn't have to click on everything to validate it, any why on earth do you have to go into so many popups?
- It seems quite happy to let me get to the checkout with an Advance ticket for a VTEC service with no seat reservation, weirdly...I'm not going to try and buy to test it out because there's no good reason to buy from Southern...
- My key and keyGo account are now completely inaccessible thanks to their stupid new login system, so there's no way for me to change my payment details and I'm not going to wait for ages on the phone to talk to someone incompetent about it so it looks like they aren't getting paid...
- Apparently, you can't collect tickets for a VTEC train from King's Cross anymore - who knew!?

All in all, it's a pretty terrible system and I still haven't seen anything more easy to use than the beautifully simple mixing deck...

 

[jon0844]

I changed my password okay. Entered my email and was sent a link to update - done.

I assume you checked your spam folder?

 

[andrewkeith5]

I changed my password okay. Entered my email and was sent a link to update - done.

I assume you checked your spam folder?

I did indeed- it took 5 hours for the first email to arrive, by which point the token had expired.....two more attempts and finally I was in......

 

[causton]

I reset my password perfectly okay. I think it looks brilliant and a lot easier to use for people who are not experts - as long as the data fed to it is correct! It looks like a new version of WebTIS as the same errors come up (i.e. no fulfilment options is worded the same). Did notice the reservations optional for the Advances though!

 

[Class 466]

Use this link: https://ticket.thameslinkrailway.com/search

 

[Deerfold]

Some interesting observations:

- Even though I have an account, southern never emailed me to tell me about this.
- I can't actually use it, because it forces you to reset your password but fails to send me an email.
- It is utterly disgusting to use - you shouldn't have to click on everything to validate it, any why on earth do you have to go into so many popups?
- It seems quite happy to let me get to the checkout with an Advance ticket for a VTEC service with no seat reservation, weirdly...I'm not going to try and buy to test it out because there's no good reason to buy from Southern...
- My key and keyGo account are now completely inaccessible thanks to their stupid new login system, so there's no way for me to change my payment details and I'm not going to wait for ages on the phone to talk to someone incompetent about it so it looks like they aren't getting paid...
- Apparently, you can't collect tickets for a VTEC train from King's Cross anymore - who knew!?

All in all, it's a pretty terrible system and I still haven't seen anything more easy to use than the beautifully simple mixing deck...

I see the same issue with my booked seat, but have no problem selecting London Kings Cross as the station to pick up a ticket (you weren't looking under K were you?).

 

[greatkingrat]

If you look under "more details" on the confirmation screen you will see it does give you a reservation for advance tickets even if you don't ask for one.

 

[talldave]

I've been forced to use the new incarnation of Southern's website tonight for the first time and can only say what an utter pile of crap. Why on earth do I need the majority of the screen filled with a map showing me where my start and end points are in the UK? I know where I live and where I'm going; what I need is lots of information about trains and tickets, not some patronising oversized graphic containing bugger all useful information filling most of my browser window!

But the most critical error is that when you purchase tickets, the collection reference is no longer included in the confirmation email. I mean, how stupid are these people? The only useful element of an online ticket purchase - the collection reference - is the one piece of information they fail to include in the email.

I never cease to be amazed at how utterly stupid Southern are. Now that quidco cashback has vanished maybe it's time to find a ticket supplier who hasn't trashed their site?

 

[button_boxer]

Why on earth do I need the majority of the screen filled with a map showing me where my start and end points are in the UK? I know where I live and where I'm going; what I need is lots of information about trains and tickets, not some patronising oversized graphic containing bugger all useful information filling most of my browser window!

I particularly like the fact that while there is an option to hide the (useful) left panel and have the (largely pointless) map fill the whole browser window, there's no way to hide the map and use the space for the useful bit.

Fair enough to have the map shown initially when you select your origin and destination, as a guard against choosing the wrong Ashford or Gillingham, but once you've established that the stations are correct the map becomes irrelevant for the rest of the process.

 

[Paul Kelly]

I really like the map and find it useful for (a) verifying which route the journey planner has come up with when there are multiple routes available between two stations, and (b) because I'm not originally from this country and don't have as extensive a geographical knowledge as someone who is, it's really helpful as a general indicator of the distance and direction of a planned journey.

 

[jon0844]

The map is a clever idea, but should be something that can be disabled to speed things up.

 

[talldave]

The map is a clever idea, but should be something that can be disabled to speed things up.

Perhaps clever but too much emphasis given to it.

A cleverer idea would have been to not remove the collection reference from the confirmation email!!!!

 

[button_boxer]

Perhaps clever but too much emphasis given to it.

A cleverer idea would have been to not remove the collection reference from the confirmation email!!!!

Has it disappeared entirely or just been labelled something else ("booking reference" or "confirmation number" or something like that)? My recent bookings via VTEC have the ToD reference in the email subject line as well.

 

[talldave]

Has it disappeared entirely or just been labelled something else ("booking reference" or "confirmation number" or something like that)? My recent bookings via VTEC have the ToD reference in the email subject line as well.

They've replaced it with a totally useless "Booking reference" which isn't the ToD collection reference. The subject line is a bland "Order confirmation".

They then helpfully add that "You can log into your account to view details of your booking at any time. " Sure... how long that will take on a smartphone, in the rain, with bugger all signal, stood next to the ticket machine as my train glides out of the station...

I wonder just how many of GTR's moronic management team it took to come up with the grand idea of removing the collection reference from the email? Do they set out to **** off their customers or is it just something that happens with zero effort because they're so inept and never have to buy a ticket themselves?

But never mind, their ever helpful customer services team have acknowledged my email on the subject and hope to get back to me within 20 working days - that's a month in the real world. And I bet after that month is up I get the usual incompetent reply from someone who's got an IQ of 0 and hasn't read my message at all.

 

[JaJaWa]

Perhaps it's to encourage people to download their app, which now stores all your collection references.

 

[talldave]

Perhaps it's to encourage people to download their app, which now stores all your collection references.

I don't think they have the intelligence to have had that thought. But that might be the only reason I'd relent and re-install their crap app. Does it cache the collection references or rely on real time data coverage?
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---
Although they haven't bothered to reply to my email, they have now added the booking reference back into the confirmation email.

So apart from the site being crap and complicated to use compared to the old one, the only outstanding missing feature is that it no longer remembers my card details, so I have to enter everything from scratch for every ticket purchase. Tedious.

 

[sheff1]

I never cease to be amazed at how utterly stupid Southern are. Now that quidco cashback has vanished maybe it's time to find a ticket supplier who hasn't trashed their site?

There are so many ticket sellers available that if one p***es me off I stop using them completely. So far my blacklist consists of Southern, VTEC & VTWC. Trainline was, naturally, never on my 'to use' list in the first place !

 

[talldave]

There are so many ticket sellers available that if one p***es me off I stop using them completely. So far my blacklist consists of Southern, VTEC & VTWC. Trainline was, naturally, never on my 'to use' list in the first place !

Well the only thing keeping me at Southern is their no-fee refund, but I've only used that once or twice so wouldn't be a great loss.

Which sites look like Southern used to? Any of the ones with quidco cashback?

 

[sheff1]

Which sites look like Southern used to? Any of the ones with quidco cashback?

It is some time since I used Southern but I seem to remember their site looked like this:
http://tickets.hulltrains.co.uk/ht/en/JourneyPlanning/MixingDeck