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E Tickets

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Wallsendmag

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Obviously eTickets are better, but I really don't understand the problem with mTickets. As others have said, they seem to work well on the buses. You have to activate the ticket - that's it. There are no other onerous requirements, except having a working, charged phone. That's not the Sisyphean task that some make it out to be, and for many people it's essential for normal life anyway. Of course, we're all different, but I think that people who know less about the industry wouldn't find them so objectionable.
You also have to have the matching app from the retailer and for those nervous about battery life you can’t print a backup copy. For a group booking you can’t distribute the tickets , it’s just yesterdays ticket and needs to be killed
 
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Deafdoggie

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Obviously eTickets are better, but I really don't understand the problem with mTickets. As others have said, they seem to work well on the buses. You have to activate the ticket - that's it. There are no other onerous requirements, except having a working, charged phone. That's not the Sisyphean task that some make it out to be, and for many people it's essential for normal life anyway. Of course, we're all different, but I think that people who know less about the industry wouldn't find them so objectionable.
I don't think there is an issue with bus m-tickets.
But why use something on the trains that is more restrictive when a more flexible ticket is available? E-tickets offer more flexibility. When travelling as a group or family you can have your own tickets, or quickly scan through them. An m-ticket offers no such facility. If you always travel alone then I guess that's not an issue. You must activate an m-ticket before boarding, train pulls in but is then cancelled. You can't refund a m-ticket once activated.
There is nothing better about an m-ticket over an e-ticket. But many things better about an e-ticket over an m-ticket.
Buses, of course, are very different and m-tickets are perfectly fine for them.
 

zero

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Sounds like an mTicket to me which has visual validation and is so easy to spot when it's a screenshot.

I see. From what I could see the screenshot looked the same as the e-tickets I get from LNER. What do Northern m-tickets look like?
 

Haywain

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I see. From what I could see the screenshot looked the same as the e-tickets I get from LNER. What do Northern m-tickets look like?
Even a screenshot of an eTicket is problematic as it does not have the option of viewing the ticket details manually. But from a distance a screenshot of either will look much the same.
 

zero

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Even a screenshot of an eTicket is problematic as it does not have the option of viewing the ticket details manually. But from a distance a screenshot of either will look much the same.

I always show my e-tickets as screenshots, but I use long screenshots and I can bring up the PDF file if required - though nobody has ever asked. Actually I zoom into the screenshot so the aztec code fills up the whole screen as for some reason scanners don't like my phone and expanding it seems to work better, at barriers and on board.

So it seemed a bit odd, I would have thought northern m-tickets would have some moving background or whatever, and not be screenshottable (unless you do something to your phone settings).
 

Haywain

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I always show my e-tickets as screenshots, but I use long screenshots and I can bring up the PDF file if required - though nobody has ever asked. Actually I expand the aztec code so it fills up the whole screen
If you’ve got the pdf what is the benefit of the screenshot?
 

zero

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If you’ve got the pdf what is the benefit of the screenshot?

I often read PDF books on the train, and it's faster to switch to my gallery app than to close my book and find the right file (often have up to 5 tickets which I may be using in a nested order). Yes there's probably another way but my way works.
 
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One of the many problems with m-tickets, well documented here, is the nonsense about "activation" because tickets which are valid for more than one day (the return half of an off-peak return, for example, being used to break the return journey which is completely legitimate) go "inactive" on the day after their activation (made "inactive" wrongly by the "app"). I don't know if this is a problem affecting all m-tickets or has been fixed (I think it is, and hasn't, respectively).
Well, those are bugs or bad decisions, but given that they exist I agree that's a drawback.

it’s just yesterdays ticket and needs to be killed
I'd be happy to see them go!

But why use something on the trains that is more restrictive when a more flexible ticket is available?
I agree, and I prefer eTickets.
 

miklcct

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I always show my e-tickets as screenshots, but I use long screenshots and I can bring up the PDF file if required - though nobody has ever asked. Actually I zoom into the screenshot so the aztec code fills up the whole screen as for some reason scanners don't like my phone and expanding it seems to work better, at barriers and on board.

So it seemed a bit odd, I would have thought northern m-tickets would have some moving background or whatever, and not be screenshottable (unless you do something to your phone settings).
I have tried using a Northern m-ticket yesterday. The barcode page doesn't have moving background but the ticket detail page has.

The ticket is expired (as it's a Off-Peak Day Return) and I'm not going to use the app again after confirming that it doesn't sell e-tickets.
 

jfollows

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Well, those are bugs or bad decisions, but given that they exist I agree that's a drawback.
What is especially bad is that the bugs or bad decisions have been known for months if not years now, but nothing gets done to correct the problem. It's not that things go wrong that's annoying, it's the apparent complete lack of action to fix the problem that is.
 

johntea

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You must activate an m-ticket before boarding, train pulls in but is then cancelled. You can't refund a m-ticket once activated.

I don’t think the retailer could reasonably refuse a refund request if you had simply activated a ticket for whatever reason and then not used it

Obviously issues with some people trying it on when the guard didn’t come down for a scan but if they try it on often enough they’ll presumably get caught out eventually by other means
 

Deafdoggie

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I don’t think the retailer could reasonably refuse a refund request if you had simply activated a ticket for whatever reason and then not used it

Obviously issues with some people trying it on when the guard didn’t come down for a scan but if they try it on often enough they’ll presumably get caught out eventually by other means
Scans only matter for e-tickets, and it is known where and when scanned anyway.
M-tickets activation is basically showing the ticket as used full-stop. TOCs simply come back and say "can't be refunded its been used" whereas an e-ticket will show where it was used, and therefore where it wasn't.
 

HBP

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M-tickets activation is basically showing the ticket as used full-stop. TOCs simply come back and say "can't be refunded its been used"

It’s not written in stone. I’ve certainly had a refund from Northern after activation of the m-ticket after a late cancellation happened and I decided to abandon my journey and without any hassle from them.
 

transportphoto

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Pretty sure ScotRail m tickets don't have moving colours.
They do. Once activated, it’s an animation with three different moving colours and the time along the top. This shows where the attached shows as “Expired Ticket” - active tickets are orange in colour. (Attached shows a small screengrab of an expired M-ticket in the ScotRail app.)
 

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tornado

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They do. Once activated, it’s an animation with three different moving colours and the time along the top. This shows where the attached shows as “Expired Ticket” - active tickets are orange in colour. (Attached shows a small screengrab of an expired M-ticket in the ScotRail app.)

I'm looking at a ScotRail m-ticket right now which I activated today and there are no moving colours, only a digital clock which slowly bouces from left to right.
 

transportphoto

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I'm looking at a ScotRail m-ticket right now which I activated today and there are no moving colours, only a digital clock which slowly bouces from left to right.
Ahh forgive me, is that digital clock on a multicoloured background? If so, that’s what I was trying to describe. Apologies, it was my memory that the colours moved rather the clock.
 

OscarH

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The moving/changing colours were removed from the spec if I recall correctly, so they used to be there but aren't anymore
 

plugwash

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I think that people who know less about the industry wouldn't find them so objectionable.
I can well imagine that people who don't know about the Criminalisation of ticketless travel on the railways would find them less objectionable.
 

TEW

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Even a screenshot of an eTicket is problematic as it does not have the option of viewing the ticket details manually. But from a distance a screenshot of either will look much the same.
Generally I find it quicker checking E tickets if passengers have taken a screenshot, as sometimes it can take people a while to find the ticket in their app. The Trainline app is usually OK but some other apps can be slower.
 

Wallsendmag

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Generally I find it quicker checking E tickets if passengers have taken a screenshot, as sometimes it can take people a while to find the ticket in their app. The Trainline app is usually OK but some other apps can be slower.
We have the option to add it to your device wallet, that's normally the quickest way. How many times do we have to say you don't need an app for eTickets
 

miklcct

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We have the option to add it to your device wallet, that's normally the quickest way. How many times do we have to say you don't need an app for eTickets
Not all retailers have the option to add it into the device wallet.

Some (e.g. Trainline) only support Apple Wallet, some (e.g. Avanti) only support Google Pay, and some (e.g. GWR) do neither.
 

jfollows

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Not all retailers have the option to add it into the device wallet.

Some (e.g. Trainline) only support Apple Wallet, some (e.g. Avanti) only support Google Pay, and some (e.g. GWR) do neither.
I'm pretty sure I was able to use Avanti (February & April 2022) and Apple Wallet. In the past I've been able to show my e-tickets on my Apple Watch, however this year I used the printed PDFs because I had them.
 

Deafdoggie

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Not all retailers have the option to add it into the device wallet.

Some (e.g. Trainline) only support Apple Wallet, some (e.g. Avanti) only support Google Pay, and some (e.g. GWR) do neither.
Trainline use Google Pay too.
 

miklcct

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I'm pretty sure I was able to use Avanti (February & April 2022) and Apple Wallet. In the past I've been able to show my e-tickets on my Apple Watch, however this year I used the printed PDFs because I had them.
How do I add it into my Apple Wallet? I didn't see any button on both the email and in my Android app, only a Google Pay button for the e-ticket in the app.


Trainline use Google Pay too.
In contrast, I could only find Apple Wallet link in the confirmation email sent from Trainline.
 

Haywain

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How do I add it into my Apple Wallet? I didn't see any button on both the email and in my Android app, only a Google Pay button for the e-ticket in the app.
Maybe to add it to an Apple Wallet you need to see it in a iPhone app. This has been my recent experience with non-rail tickets.
 

OscarH

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Maybe to add it to an Apple Wallet you need to see it in a iPhone app. This has been my recent experience with non-rail tickets.
That's actually something (most of) the industry does better on that other industries with barcode tickets, putting the wallet links in emails, it's utterly ridiculous when places like ticketmaster force you to download an additional app to add your ticket to Google Pay/Apple Wallet instead of putting the link in an email
 

jfollows

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How do I add it into my Apple Wallet? I didn't see any button on both the email and in my Android app, only a Google Pay button for the e-ticket in the app.
I think that I engineered to send the PDF to myself as an email attachment which I think opened on my iPhone, which then enabled me to add it to my Wallet.
Essentially I opened it in some kind of iPhone "app" such as mail. If not mail, I might have used the Avanti "app" instead. Essentially as Haywain stated earlier.
 
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