• Our new ticketing site is now live! Using either this or the original site (both powered by TrainSplit) helps support the running of the forum with every ticket purchase! Find out more and ask any questions/give us feedback in this thread!

Ticket gate error 134

Status
Not open for further replies.

Ed92uk

Member
Joined
12 Nov 2016
Messages
21
Can anybody confirm what this code means?

Just had ticket rejected at BHM. No issue from staff with myself but it was escalated to 3 different people to let me through the gate. They said ticket has been used before however I am 100% certain that’s impossible. Return portion of an anytime which was checked on train and stamped with date etc so can prove I had just got off the train. They confiscated it (again no issue personally) and let me through but when they shouted theb3rd member of staff over I was getting a little worried!
 
Sponsor Post - registered members do not see these adverts; click here to register, or click here to log in
R

RailUK Forums

Cantab26

Established Member
Joined
9 Jun 2016
Messages
1,948
Error code 134 is 'previously used'.

I have had this error code at Birmingham New Street with the unused return portion of an Anytime Return on several occasions in the recent past. I wonder if there may be an error in the programming?
 

Wallsendmag

Established Member
Joined
11 Dec 2014
Messages
6,266
Location
Wallsend or somewhere on the ECML
That’s probably the problem , we’ve found some tickets are encoded with the start date and a period of validity but some gatelines just read the start date


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro
 

CyrusWuff

Established Member
Joined
20 May 2013
Messages
5,435
Location
London
This generally seems to be an issue with tickets issued on Tribute, as it strictly adheres to the RSP spec when initially writing the magstripe by encoding the date and time of issue to the "last used" portion of the data block.

Unfortunately, most ticket barriers don't adhere to the spec and throw an erroneous "used already" error. It's possible to verify the non-use by reading the ticket on a Desktop TIS, however.
 

Haywain

Veteran Member
Joined
3 Feb 2013
Messages
24,574
That’s probably the problem , we’ve found some tickets are encoded with the start date and a period of validity but some gatelines just read the start date
In which case the ticket should be rejected as out of date rather than previously used.
This generally seems to be an issue with tickets issued on Tribute, as it strictly adheres to the RSP spec when initially writing the magstripe by encoding the date and time of issue to the "last used" portion of the data block.

Unfortunately, most ticket barriers don't adhere to the spec and throw an erroneous "used already" error. It's possible to verify the non-use by reading the ticket on a Desktop TIS, however.
Having worked on a route where Tribute was used and barriers are in place I have not seen this problem. Certainly the largest supplier of gateline hardware, Cubic, would have long since ironed out any problems caused by allegedly not adhering to the RSP spec.
 

CyrusWuff

Established Member
Joined
20 May 2013
Messages
5,435
Location
London
Having worked on a route where Tribute was used and barriers are in place I have not seen this problem. Certainly the largest supplier of gateline hardware, Cubic, would have long since ironed out any problems caused by allegedly not adhering to the RSP spec.

Well it's what the evidence is pointing to in my experience at work. I'd say that 99% (if not 100%) of the tickets incorrectly flagged as already used have been issued on Tribute, and we've got Cubic gates. That's got to be more than mere coincidence.
 

Ed92uk

Member
Joined
12 Nov 2016
Messages
21
My return was used the day after outward. No details were taken they just took the ticket which was fine by me.
 

AY1975

Established Member
Joined
14 Dec 2016
Messages
2,178
The magnetic strip on the back of tickets is perfectly good 1980s/90s technology, but it has its limitations and presumably can't cope with the sheer complexity of different ticket types that there are these days. I suppose it was only designed to have to go through London Underground ticket gates.

Some tickets, such as those issued by Virgin East Coast, now have barcodes on them - I presume these will eventually completely replace the magnetic strip, as I think barcode readers use more sophisticated technology. The sooner this happens, the better. So far I haven't managed to get the barcode on a normal credit card-sized ticket to work the ticket gates, though.
 

boxy321

Member
Joined
20 Jun 2016
Messages
449
The magnetic strip on the back of tickets is perfectly good 1980s/90s technology, but it has its limitations and presumably can't cope with the sheer complexity of different ticket types that there are these days. I suppose it was only designed to have to go through London Underground ticket gates.

Some tickets, such as those issued by Virgin East Coast, now have barcodes on them - I presume these will eventually completely replace the magnetic strip, as I think barcode readers use more sophisticated technology. The sooner this happens, the better. So far I haven't managed to get the barcode on a normal credit card-sized ticket to work the ticket gates, though.

Tell me that when I have to queue up to get my faulty season ticket reprinted every month. Yes I know not to put it near a phone. Yes I know not to to put it near other cards. Yes it probably is the X-ray machine or whetever at the Post Office.
 

swt_passenger

Veteran Member
Joined
7 Apr 2010
Messages
34,256
I'm interested in how the gates will mark barcode tickets to prevent repeated reuse, pass back etc etc. Not necessarily the panacea people hope for...
 

AlterEgo

Verified Rep - Wingin' It! Paul Lucas
Joined
30 Dec 2008
Messages
29,306
Location
LBK
I'm interested in how the gates will mark barcode tickets to prevent repeated reuse, pass back etc etc. Not necessarily the panacea people hope for...

Surely the ticket isn't marked, but the database updated to say where a barcode has been scanned? Are all barcode scanners linked like this?
 

swt_passenger

Veteran Member
Joined
7 Apr 2010
Messages
34,256
Surely the ticket isn't marked, but the database updated to say where a barcode has been scanned? Are all barcode scanners linked like this?

No idea if they are linked - wouldn't that require an unlikely level of cooperation between all the TOCs back office systems? The same TOCs who can't or won't make ITSO work across TOC boundaries?

If you want all transactions to be fed to a back office via bar-codes won't you also need a 100% barriered network?
 

AlterEgo

Verified Rep - Wingin' It! Paul Lucas
Joined
30 Dec 2008
Messages
29,306
Location
LBK
No idea if they are linked - wouldn't that require an unlikely level of cooperation between all the TOCs back office systems? The same TOCs who can't or won't make ITSO work across TOC boundaries?

If you want all transactions to be fed to a back office via bar-codes won't you also need a 100% barriered network?

Wouldn't require a 100% barriered network, no. There are lots of paper tickets which never get marked and I don't see why that would be any different for a barcode?
 

Wallsendmag

Established Member
Joined
11 Dec 2014
Messages
6,266
Location
Wallsend or somewhere on the ECML
I'm interested in how the gates will mark barcode tickets to prevent repeated reuse, pass back etc etc. Not necessarily the panacea people hope for...



That’s called an e-TVD already in use every time a ticket is scanned a record is added to its history very very useful . There are four different suppliers I believe and the systems can all talk to each other. Gates and onboard TIS can all add records almost instantly.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro
 
Last edited:
Status
Not open for further replies.

Top