Paper tickets looking a bit retro

[VC00]

Much prefer paper tickets simply because of the fact they don't record everywhere I've travelled, I get there's fraud prevention but I would still privacy

 

[JonathanH]

Much prefer paper tickets simply because of the fact they don't record everywhere I've travelled, I get there's fraud prevention but I would still privacy

Doesn't your phone record everywhere you have travelled? If you travel legitimately you have nothing to fear.

 

[miklcct]

I was surprised how many e-tickets were shown on phones to the conductor on an Avanti train this week, there does seem to have been a marked shift towards them.

It certainly doesn't happen on a Southern train instead. Paper tickets still dominate there.

 

[317 forever]

I am getting used to paper e-tickets as standard instead of printing off the fast ticket reference then printing the tickets.

This is less time-consuming and simpler if needing to claim Delay Repay.

As I still prefer not to get a smartphone I cannot use any m-ticket or e-ticket on my phone option.

 

[Sonic1234]

Doesn't your phone record everywhere you have travelled?

Yes, but this is not accessible to the railway.

 

[VC00]

Doesn't your phone record everywhere you have travelled? If you travel legitimately you have nothing to fear.

Yes but I'd rather have a choice in what's tracked and what isn't. Customer satisfaction is clearly not a aim for the railway nowadays, I cant see how anyone can see removed magstrip tickets is a benefit to anyone other than the railway

 

[island]

To be honest the e-ticket format is pretty good. Why not just print those on till roll? The consistency would help some people, and they're a lot smaller than the bog roll format.

Some TOCs already issue e-tickets onto plain till roll in some locations.

Not on my Sony Ericsson K800i they don't, and I am not buying a new one for the convenience of the railway.

I do not think the railway should especially concern itself with accommodating someone choosing to use a 16 year old phone.

You’re going to have to buy a new phone next year anyway, because the technology yours uses to connect to the network is obsolete and being switched off.

 

[Bletchleyite]

You’re going to have to buy a new phone next year anyway, because the technology yours uses to connect to the network is obsolete and being switched off.

2G is not being switched off, so no phones will stop working entirely.

 

[JamesT]

2G is not being switched off, so no phones will stop working entirely.

Not yet, but the mobile operators have said they’ll withdraw 2G after 3G - https://www.ispreview.co.uk/index.p...ctations-for-2g-and-3g-mobile-switch-off.html

 

[Confused52]

Not yet, but the mobile operators have said they’ll withdraw 2G after 3G - https://www.ispreview.co.uk/index.p...ctations-for-2g-and-3g-mobile-switch-off.html

2G will stick around for up 10 years more because of smart meter contracts; assuming that everyone has a smart phone or if they don't should not be entitled to use public transport because of a ticket type choice is likely to be a civil rights nightmare. I hope!

 

[AM9]

I am getting used to paper e-tickets as standard instead of printing off the fast ticket reference then printing the tickets.

This is less time-consuming and simpler if needing to claim Delay Repay.

As I still prefer not to get a smartphone I cannot use any m-ticket or e-ticket on my phone option.

Which is fine, there's no justification in making all passengers carry a phone as a prerequisite for travelling on a primary mode of public transport, - let alone a modern smartphone.

 

[lyndhurst25]

Well, using an ancient phone that can barely do anything useful is entirely your choice, but you remove yourself from options about flexibility of how you can obtain and carry rail tickets. Fortunately for you the rail industry still provides printed tickets and the means to purchase them but if they choose not to provide them in your preferred shape and size you'll just have to deal with it.

Barely do anything useful? Other than phone calls and texts, which I imagine were the reasons that Confused52 bought the thing in the first place.

 

[Haywain]

Barely do anything useful? Other than phone calls and texts, which I imagine were the reasons that Confused52 bought the thing in the first place.

That might well be the reasons for buying it all those years ago but, you may have noticed, for most people those are far from being the primary reasons for having a mobile phone these days.

 

[island]

2G will stick around for up 10 years more because of smart meter contracts; assuming that everyone has a smart phone or if they don't should not be entitled to use public transport because of a ticket type choice is likely to be a civil rights nightmare. I hope!

Which is fine, there's no justification in making all passengers carry a phone as a prerequisite for travelling on a primary mode of public transport, - let alone a modern smartphone.

Nobody, in this thread, or anywhere else, is saying carrying a phone is or should be a prerequisite to using public transport. That is a straw man fallacy. Paper tickets are not going away, though they may look different in the future.

 

[AM9]

Nobody, in this thread, or anywhere else, is saying carrying a phone is or should be a prerequisite to using public transport. That is a straw man fallacy. Paper tickets are not going away, though they may look different in the future.

My post was a reply to @317 forever, who said: "As I still prefer not to get a smartphone I cannot use any m-ticket or e-ticket on my phone option." It wasn't suggesting that possesion of a phone of any type was currreently or to be proposed in the forseeable future as a prerequisition for rail travel.
However, there is a subsection of travellers, including some posters who believe that because they wish to run their whole life on a smartphone, seem to be pressing for every rail user to be forced to do likewise, and if the industry gets the idea that this subsection of their customers is significant, the lure of lower costs for the railway itself might tempt them to make travel without a smartphone progressively more expensive or difficult.

 

[jon81uk]

I had paper tickets because the trip involved a London Day Travelcard, which is only issued on paper

They are not only issued on paper, for many TOCs you can load travelcard to a smart card. Although annoying not for super off-peak fares.

 

[Haywain]

including some posters who believe that because they wish to run their whole life on a smartphone, seem to be pressing for every rail user to be forced to do likewise,

I guess that includes me. Frankly, I don't care what other people choose to do but I do get fed up of such people constantly telling the world that there's something wrong with using a smartphone because they don't like it. And there needs to be a reality check that the majority of people are happy to deal with life in such a way and businesses will inevitably focus on making life easier for that majority, the counter of which is that it gets more difficult for those who choose otherwise.

 

[FenMan]

Doesn't your phone record everywhere you have travelled? If you travel legitimately you have nothing to fear.

Goodness, that old "you have nothing to fear" argument has been debunked countless times.

 

[XAM2175]

... and the background was identical.

That's the CIT 2012 security background, which is now the standard stock for all CIT members.

 

[Haywain]

Goodness, that old "you have nothing to fear" argument has been debunked countless times.

That may happen but it isn't affected by whether you hold a paper ticket or an eTicket, which is the subject of the thread.

 

[12LDA28C]

We just need to get rid of old fashioned magnetic stripe tickets.

Why?

 

[Haywain]

Why?

Because they are very old technology.

 

[SussexSeagull]

Living in the Southern trains area we are covered by the Key card which I have had mixed experiences with. When it works it is great but I once tried loading a monthly ticket to London - costing about £500 - onto it and the machine gave up half way through but kept the payment at pending meaning I couldn't buy it again for a couple of days.

I converted it to KeyGo and it basically stopped working, although inspired by this thread I took a look at my account I need to load a ticket worth nothing onto my card, which I was never told about.

Also, not sure why the system is designed so when I buy a ticket on-line I have to still go to a ticker machine to enable it. Surely I should be able to just tap in and out?

Only one example but it needs to be improved before there is mass take up and even then people using trains once in a while are unlikely to use it.

 

[Wallsendmag]

Living in the Southern trains area we are covered by the Key card which I have had mixed experiences with. When it works it is great but I once tried loading a monthly ticket to London - costing about £500 - onto it and the machine gave up half way through but kept the payment at pending meaning I couldn't buy it again for a couple of days.

I converted it to KeyGo and it basically stopped working, although inspired by this thread I took a look at my account I need to load a ticket worth nothing onto my card, which I was never told about.

Also, not sure why the system is designed so when I buy a ticket on-line I have to still go to a ticker machine to enable it. Surely I should be able to just tap in and out?

Only one example but it needs to be improved before there is mass take up and even then people using trains once in a while are unlikely to use it.

With LNER you can collect a ticket on your Smartcard simoy by tapping it on the gate. Also have the tried the national Rail Smartcard Manager App?

 

[yorksrob]

Well, have no fear, the cheap and nasty bog roll tickets have now infested Waterloo.

Sir Peter Parker must be spinning in his grave.

 

[12LDA28C]

Because they are very old technology.

So what? They do the job they are supposed to very well. Should we get rid of anything that uses 'very old technology'? The light bulb, the internal combustion engine and so on? If we get rid of anything that uses technology dating from older than the mid-1980s when these tickets were introduced, there wouldn't be much left.

I still see regular queues at my various local ticket offices which suggests people still like to buy physical tickets in person and personally, I'm one of them.

 

[kkong]

With LNER you can collect a ticket on your Smartcard simoy by tapping it on the gate. Also have the tried the national Rail Smartcard Manager App?

Correct me if I am wrong, but the ITSO specification for national rail tickets has no concept of a specific timed ticket? e.g. an Advance.

ScotRail are issuing Advance tickets on ITSO as "Off Peak Single" (according to the ScotRail app and ScotRail TVMs) or "Super Off Peak Single" (according to the National Rail app).

The result is:
(1) Confused guards/ticket inspectors who have never seen such a ticket type and wonder what it is (I don't think there are any actual Off Peak Singles in Scotland).
(2) The smartcard not opening the ticket gate for some early morning departures.

 

[yorksrob]

So what? They do the job they are supposed to very well. Should we get rid of anything that uses 'very old technology'? The light bulb, the internal combustion engine and so on? If we get rid of anything that uses technology dating from older than the mid-1980s when these tickets were introduced, there wouldn't be much left.

I still see regular queues at my various local ticket offices which suggests people still like to buy physical tickets in person and personally, I'm one of them.

The technology brigade will not be satisfied until everyone's forced to live their lives on the inter-cloud/web, or whatever it's called.

 

[Bletchleyite]

The technology brigade will not be satisfied until everyone's forced to live their lives on the inter-cloud/web, or whatever it's called.

You appear to be posting on an Internet forum. Wouldn't down the pub suit you better, or a railway club?

 

[yorksrob]

You appear to be posting on an Internet forum. Wouldn't down the pub suit you better, or a railway club?

I'm also sitting on the train with a physical (albeit an extremely inferior format) ticket.