Free-WiFi may be a requirement however whether it is working or not is another matter.I thought free WiFi was a requirement in trains now. If they weren't providing it , there isn't really a blame to put on the passenger
Sam
Free-WiFi may be a requirement however whether it is working or not is another matter.I thought free WiFi was a requirement in trains now. If they weren't providing it , there isn't really a blame to put on the passenger
Free-WiFi may be a requirement however whether it is working or not is another matter.
Sam
Not railway related but Facebook built an App called Mentions. It was avilable to celbraties on Android and iOS platforms but only avilable to non celbraties on iOS. That's more of restriction than the Pp not being produced.Could you name an organisation who does that?
I dont think I have ever come across one that doesn't work on both platforms
There is a risk if two people present the same ticket to different scanners during a period when one or both of them doesn't have internet access, so the second scanner doesn't "know" the ticket has already been scanned. But it's probably not very likely.You don’t need a signal to display eTickets. And there’s no need for one to scan the barcode - all the info is in the barcode. The scanner should also have a local hotlist (updated when internet connection available).
Free WiFi only works when there is a decent signal and the train offers free WiFiI thought free WiFi was a requirement in trains now. If they weren't providing it , there isn't really a blame to put on the passenger
As I mentioned in my earlier post, purely from observation it seems to take a little longer on average. Reading or scanning a single e-ticket is pretty quick. It slows down when it is used with some sort of railcard as they aren't displayed on the same screen. Also to scan the inspector needs to be physically nearer the passenger, they can't just look across three seats. In cases where the inspector is too far away to read the words on a ticket, people are much quicker to pass a card ticket across than they are a mobile phone.On the same train, the time it took to read my e-ticket was a fraction of having to look at the ticket and check validity. I don't understand why some think this takes longer.
It's Apple's own file format/standard.
I think saving it to your phone should be a requirement if you are going to present them on a phone. Here is fairly simple to test if you have really saved it: save it, close all apps, put the phone in airplane mode, then try to display the ticket. If it fails, you have probably not saved something necessary to the phone.
Hmmm...
Indeed - and Apple provide some docs for it which I've read. I thought it was JSON rather than XML, actually.It's not actually a proprietary format per-se (otherwise the third party apps wouldn't be able to do it). It's a ZIP file containing an XML and any images.
If the inspector needs to be physically nearer the passenger, then their scanner should be replaced with a better one. I just tested this, displaying a dense QR code for this page's fairly long address on my monitor, resizing it to the size of my phone screen, then starting the barcode scanner app on my phone and walking to it across the office. It scans easily about 1.5m away. Slightly more if the monitor brightness is low so the scanner does not get confused by the web page's brightness. I cannot read the details off a card ticket quickly at 1.5m. And this is with a low-end phone camera. A dedicated scanner should beat it easily.Also to scan the inspector needs to be physically nearer the passenger, they can't just look across three seats. In cases where the inspector is too far away to read the words on a ticket, people are much quicker to pass a card ticket across than they are a mobile phone.
I think this is a classic case of using technology to solve a problem that doesn't exist.
Paper tickets work because;
Yes, I'm aware that some people want to do absolutely everything they can with their phone, just because it's there but I don't see a single advantage of using an e-ticket over a conventional paper one.
- They fit in your wallet
- All the information you need is on the ticket
- They can't be duplicated and are less susceptible to fraud
- They work ticket barriers (mostly)
- They're not dependent on you having a working phone, a full battery and internet access
Indeed - and Apple provide some docs for it which I've read. I thought it was JSON rather than XML, actually.
But it's not an "open spec" that was developed with vendor consensus, is it? Apple just did their own thing, as I understand it?
I thought free WiFi was a requirement in trains now. If they weren't providing it , there isn't really a blame to put on the passenger
I think the difference is that the Passbook/Apple Wallet method is an actual file which is downloaded on the device (and then saved to the iPhone account), whereas Google's method is entirely cloud based - no file downloads/email attachments, just click one button and it syncs straight to your device.You might be right, I forget.
They did, but having taken off I just don't get why Google don't support it.
Let’s not talk about the phones that the goon squad have been given, if for example it has been scanned in the morning then it will automatically clip both the outbound and return journey, meaning it won’t work the gates in the evening when the passenger returns.that's how the Manchester Piccadilly heavies squad does it. So implementing e-ticket acceptance costs next to nothing.
The PassWallet app on Android will allow you to add and store e-tickets. It's what I use for journeys where I'm not travelling by season ticket, and it's fab.Unfortunately in Grand Central's case they incorrectly label their tickets as being e-tickets, when you can't do many of those things that you have just mentioned.
It is in fact an m-ticket in disguise.
it would be helpful also if there were options to be able to add your ticket to your GPay wallet as well as Apple Wallet, I know of only 2* TOC's where that is possible, one is only if you buy from their ticket offices (Avanti) and the other being LNER.
Sam
I have to say, now, I avoid them altogether and use the footbridge so I can pass through the ticket gates at the low numbered platforms. I even (inadvertently) bagged a free panettone on the first Monday of Avanti because I was doing that, having walked down from platform 14 just as the newly rebranded Pendolino was arrivingLet’s not talk about the phones that the goon squad have been given, if for example it has been scanned in the morning then it will automatically clip both the outbound and return journey, meaning it won’t work the gates in the evening when the passenger returns.
Sam
Of course one reads about printed tickets not fully printing or other such izsue, so even that isn't full proof.I have to say, now, I avoid them altogether and use the footbridge so I can pass through the ticket gates at the low numbered platforms. I even (inadvertently) bagged a free panettone on the first Monday of Avanti because I was doing that, having walked down from platform 14 just as the newly rebranded Pendolino was arriving
But yeah, that is my one bugbear with E-Tickets; they're great, until some aspect of the technology fails, and then they're useless.
I think this is a classic case of using technology to solve a problem that doesn't exist.
Paper tickets work because;
Yes, I'm aware that some people want to do absolutely everything they can with their phone, just because it's there but I don't see a single advantage of using an e-ticket over a conventional paper one.
- They fit in your wallet
- All the information you need is on the ticket
- They can't be duplicated and are less susceptible to fraud
- They work ticket barriers (mostly)
- They're not dependent on you having a working phone, a full battery and internet access
I could - but the credit card size of the orange ticket works nicely for him, compared to the pdf. This is about meeting his emotional needs as well as the purely transactional requirements.Print it out and give him that.
I could - but the credit card size of the orange ticket works nicely for him, compared to the pdf. This is about meeting his emotional needs as well as the purely transactional requirements.
I think for "emotional need," read, "can't cope with change." Not exactly an unusual trait amongst the older, anxious, and railway enthusiast communities.He has an emotional need for a credit card sized piece of card, as distinct from a folded piece of A4 which could be easily placed in the notes section of his wallet and actually contains more information about his journey?
Seriously?
I think for "emotional need," read, "can't cope with change." Not exactly an unusual trait amongst the older, anxious, and railway enthusiast communities.