Renewing season tickets online

[TUC]

Why is there such an inconsistent approach between TOCs to renewing season tickets online? For example, Trans Pennine Express allows renewals online but they have to be for a date at least five days in advance. Why not for tomorrow with collection at TVMs? Northern Rail allow next day purchases, but collections are only from TVMs at a limited range of stations http://www.northernrail.org/tickets/seasontickets/Season+Ticket+Collection . Why not all stations with TVMs? Even more bizarrely, Northern's station list is different for 7-day rather than monthly tickets.

It is hard to see why there should be different approaches to how far in advance season ticket renewals have to be, or why they cannot be available for collection at all TVMs.

 

[Haywain]

The problem is that season tickets are not an approved product for 'Ticket on Departure' (collection at TVMs). I understand that this is because not all TVM's will be set up to print a season ticket correctly, but cannot confirm the technicalities. Therefore TransPennine Express will allow renewal online when they can post the ticket out, and Northern will allow collection at certain TVMs that they know will correctly print the ticket. There is probably nothing to stop someone trying to collect a season ticket from a non-approved TVM, but you may not get a correctly formatted ticket if you get one at all.

 

[CyrusWuff]

Another issue is that issues of monthly and longer seasons have to be recorded in a season ticket database for Aftersales purposes such as refunds, duplicates and changeovers.

When the ticket is printed, it'll have the location and machine details for the issuing location printed on it, not those for the retailer, so which database should it go into? And if it's the issuing location's, how is it going to get in there? As far as I'm aware, only Shere FAST TVMs can link to a season ticket database, and even then you have to be using Shere SMART for the Ticket Office machines.

A third issue is one of ticket stock: Season tickets valid for more than one calendar month should be printed on different stock to weekly and monthly ones, and Annuals may need to be printed on a different sort again (and yet another sort if they include London Travelcard validity). In a Ticket Office, those alternative types of stock are fed by hand, but in a TVM you'd need an additional printer for each sort, and some way of determining which printer to use for a given ticket...

 

[miami]

Aren't season on different stock (aside from 7 day ones).

 

[TUC]

Another issue is that issues of monthly and longer seasons have to be recorded in a season ticket database for Aftersales purposes such as refunds, duplicates and changeovers.

When the ticket is printed, it'll have the location and machine details for the issuing location printed on it, not those for the retailer, so which database should it go into? And if it's the issuing location's, how is it going to get in there? As far as I'm aware, only Shere FAST TVMs can link to a season ticket database, and even then you have to be using Shere SMART for the Ticket Office machines.

Those are important issues, but they are just basic software issues that one would expect to be taken into account when designing TVMs in the first place. TOCs do seem to make hard work of some pretty basic technology when it comes to TVM issues.

The lack of availability of season tickets via online and TVM collection does seem to be a key gap in what should reasonably be available and a key income opportunity that TOCs are missing out on. After all, it someone lives near a station with a TVM but is not staffed, what incentive do they have to go to the inconvenience of travelling to queue up at some distant station?

 

[causton]

TOCs do seem to make hard work of some pretty basic technology when it comes to TVM issues.

Or is it the TVM companies, who charge a lot or don't bother doing much, as they already have the contracts? Look at how bad some of the new tickets are!

 

[TUC]

Or is it the TVM companies, who charge a lot or don't bother doing much, as they already have the contracts? Look at how bad some of the new tickets are!

Well, it's up to the TOCs to specify what they require from acceptable TVMs as a condition of purchasing them.

 

[island]

Aren't season on different stock (aside from 7 day ones).

Season tickets valid for 1 month are printed on common stock. 1 month 1 day or longer are meant to be printed on blue season ticket stock (or gold card for qualifying annuals).

 

[Greeby]

Another issue is that issues of monthly and longer seasons have to be recorded in a season ticket database for Aftersales purposes such as refunds, duplicates and changeovers.

Of course that's not helped when the department that issues and sends out these online seasons can't be bothered to put the details in the TOC database. So you have the worst case scenario of an annual season holder needing to apply for a duplicate and there being no record to check against. As is often the case with the TOC I'm employed by.

That's what drives me up the wall about online sales more than anything. They want to take the sale away from booking offices and hasten our demise, yet they won't do the work that comes with the sale.

 

[CyrusWuff]

Of course that's not helped when the department that issues and sends out these online seasons can't be bothered to put the details in the TOC database. So you have the worst case scenario of an annual season holder needing to apply for a duplicate and there being no record to check against. As is often the case with the TOC I'm employed by.

I would have thought that requests for Duplicates for tickets purchased online or through Telesales (if it's contracted out) would need to be processed by the third party that actually sold the ticket.

Having said that, there probably is someone at your TOC who can obtain the details, it's just a matter of finding out who.

 

[infobleep]

I would have thought that requests for Duplicates for tickets purchased online or through Telesales (if it's contracted out) would need to be processed by the third party that actually sold the ticket.

Having said that, there probably is someone at your TOC who can obtain the details, it's just a matter of finding out who.

No any station can do it. I wasn't aware such details should be recorded. Needless to say in my case they never have been. Even when it's the same TOC. Although the work to process online sales is contracted out to a third party I believe.

 

[iainbhx]

Season tickets valid for 1 month are printed on common stock. 1 month 1 day or longer are meant to be printed on blue season ticket stock (or gold card for qualifying annuals).

I bought a 1 month 3 day season on Monday at Birmingham New Street and it was on orange stock.

 

[hairyhandedfool]

Well, it's up to the TOCs to specify what they require from acceptable TVMs as a condition of purchasing them.

Ah, but what if the machine was acquired before the need for ToD seasons was realised? Shortsightedness? maybe. Future proof technology? definitely not!

....Having said that, there probably is someone at your TOC who can obtain the details, it's just a matter of finding out who.

Hahaha, yeah, you'd like to think so wouldn't you.....

No any station can do it. I wasn't aware such details should be recorded. Needless to say in my case they never have been. Even when it's the same TOC. Although the work to process online sales is contracted out to a third party I believe.

Any station can do a Replacement (encode exchange for example) or Changeover, but not a Duplicate or Refund, those two can only be done by the company that sold the ticket.

All tickets for one month or longer must have a record somewhere.

I bought a 1 month 3 day season on Monday at Birmingham New Street and it was on orange stock.

Depends how the machine is programmed, some are programmed for two months or above as some programmers obviously haven't realised that odd period tickets do actually exist!

 

[island]

I bought a 1 month 3 day season on Monday at Birmingham New Street and it was on orange stock.

See above where I said "are meant to".

 

[TUC]

Ah, but what if the machine was acquired before the need for ToD seasons was realised? Shortsightedness? maybe. Future proof technology? definitely not!

Well there are lots of other examples as online technology has developed over the last decade where companies have had to regularly update their software to improve functionality. There's no inherent reason why the rail industry and its suppliers shouldn't update just as frequently.

 

[hairyhandedfool]

Well there are lots of other examples as online technology has developed over the last decade where companies have had to regularly update their software to improve functionality. There's no inherent reason why the rail industry and its suppliers shouldn't update just as frequently.

But do other companies have to have equipment accredited by a third party? If altering the software requires a new accreditation process then there is no incentive for anyone to do it.

 

[TUC]

But do other companies have to have equipment accredited by a third party? If altering the software requires a new accreditation process then there is no incentive for anyone to do it.

Who are you referring to as the third party in this case-the TOCs, ATOC or ??

 

[infobleep]

But do other companies have to have equipment accredited by a third party? If altering the software requires a new accreditation process then there is no incentive for anyone to do it.

How about scrapping the accreditation process if it means nothing ever gets done.