Can't find the button to buy ticket from another station at Stratford International

[miklcct]

Yesterday I made a journey from Stratford International to Folkestone, and we would need to return to St Pancras. The ticket machine had the same interface as the Thameslink ones but the button to buy from another station was missing. At the end I used a ticket office.

Is it because of the machines used different version of the software to the Thameslink ones? If the ticket office was unavailable, how could I obtain the ticket I want such that I could go back to St Pancras except by buying online?

 

[MikeWh]

Stratford International is run by Southeastern which doesn't offer tickets from another station AFAIK. If the ticket office wasn't available then you'd either have to go online, or purchase the ticket from Stratford and hope that a member of staff at Folkestone or on the train could excess the ticket. Note that I'm not expert enough to know if a return actually can be excessed at the beginning for use on the return leg.

 

[miklcct]

Stratford International is run by Southeastern which doesn't offer tickets from another station AFAIK. If the ticket office wasn't available then you'd either have to go online, or purchase the ticket from Stratford and hope that a member of staff at Folkestone or on the train could excess the ticket. Note that I'm not expert enough to know if a return actually can be excessed at the beginning for use on the return leg.

Is it true for other Southeastern machines as well? If so, how can I buy a Boundary Zone ticket for immediate travel if the ticket office isn't available, apart from buying online?

 

[Watershed]

Is it true for other Southeastern machines as well? If so, how can I buy a Boundary Zone ticket for immediate travel if the ticket office isn't available, apart from buying online?

Not all stations offer the facility to buy all ticket types, or tickets from other origins. It's as simple as that.

This can certainly lead to people paying more than they have to, which might mean there's a cause of action against the operator under competition law (see the Boundary Zone class action lawsuit). But that doesn't help you much in the short term - you're still going to have to overpay in the first place and then try to claim back the difference afterwards.

 

[Hadders]

In the specific case of Stratford International the station is outside the Zones so there isn’t really a need for Boundary Zone ticket to be used from there.

That doesn’t excuse Southeastern for not having tickets from another station so enabled on their TVMs though.

 

[Joe Paxton]

Yesterday I made a journey from Stratford International to Folkestone, and we would need to return to St Pancras. The ticket machine had the same interface as the Thameslink ones but the button to buy from another station was missing. At the end I used a ticket office.

Is it because of the machines used different version of the software to the Thameslink ones? [...]

Same underlying software, but Southeastern haven't enabled the 'tickets from other stations' function.

 

[Fenchurch SP]

In the specific case of Stratford International the station is outside the Zones so there isn’t really a need for Boundary Zone ticket to be used from there.

That doesn’t excuse Southeastern for not having tickets from another station so enabled on their TVMs though.

I believe London Bridge is all Southeastern machines. I sometimes travel from Blackfriars instead if I need a BZ ticket and am using Thameslink.

 

[Wallsendmag]

S&B are on the verge of launching an updated interface for their TVMs this will bring many new features

 

[jon0844]

S&B are on the verge of launching an updated interface for their TVMs this will bring many new features

Is there any more information on this, such as pictures or details? Will the UI be changing, or just new boxes/selections added seemingly at random?! This is probably worthy of a new thread if the changes are significant.

 

[Hadders]

S&B are on the verge of launching an updated interface for their TVMs this will bring many new features

I hope requiring the use of a journey planner isn’t one of these ‘features’.

 

[swt_passenger]

I hope requiring the use of a journey planner isn’t one of these ‘features’.

“Tickets for people who want to fail an inspection” might be handy…

 

[Hadders]

“Tickets for people who want to fail an inspection” might be handy…

Just put Wembley Stadium on the quick buy screen…

Seriously, there’s no way stations like Wembley Stadium should ever be on the quick buy screen at Marylebone, or Finsbury Park on the quick buy screen at Kings Cross etc. These are short distance journeys where almost everyone would use contactless. Putting these stations on a quickly buy screen would just encourage people to doughnut.

We’re getting off topic now!

 

[Kite159]

I hope requiring the use of a journey planner isn’t one of these ‘features’.

Agreed, as most journey planner type TVMs are hopeless when all you want is a simple day return from A to B

 

[infobleep]

S&B are on the verge of launching an updated interface for their TVMs this will bring many new features

Will these features be add ons with additional costs or available as standard?

Is it cheaper for Sourheasteen not to have the select another station option?

 

[jon0844]

Just put Wembley Stadium on the quick buy screen…

Seriously, there’s no way stations like Wembley Stadium should ever be on the quick buy screen at Marylebone, or Finsbury Park on the quick buy screen at Kings Cross etc. These are short distance journeys where almost everyone would use contactless. Putting these stations on a quickly buy screen would just encourage people to doughnut.

We’re getting off topic now!

I bet that because so many people short fare, they have stats showing loads of tickets sold from King's Cross to Finsbury Park - so they naturally put it on the quick buy list. (I believe the list is still curated manually, so it would be easy to just delete the ticket from the list).

 

[Haywain]

I bet that because so many people short fare, they have stats showing loads of tickets sold from King's Cross to Finsbury Park - so they naturally put it on the quick buy list. (I believe the list is still curated manually, so it would be easy to just delete the ticket from the list).

The numbers of tickets sold for Kings Cross to Finsbury Park barely register let alone enough to warrant being in the quick buy list, which is the top ten.

 

[Hadders]

GTR often put superfluous tickets on their quick buy screens. For example, Anytime Day Return tickets at weekends when a Super Off Peak Day Return is valid on every train.

 

[Krokodil]

Note that I'm not expert enough to know if a return actually can be excessed at the beginning for use on the return leg.

You can do an "over distance" excess for:

- Travelling out further
- Travelling out further and coming back from that farther destination
- Travelling back beyond the origin of one's return ticket (i.e. the OP)

 

[Wallsendmag]

Will these features be add ons with additional costs or available as standard?

Is it cheaper for Sourheasteen not to have the select another station option?

Thats a commercial decision for whicherver TOC has the equipment

You can do an "over distance" excess for:


- Travelling back beyond the origin of one's return ticket (i.e. the OP)

Oh no you can't

 

[Haywain]

Oh no you can't

Is this a pantomime? Because if it is, oh yes...

Some stations would issue such an excess but there is no clear right to obtain it.

 

[Krokodil]

Oh no you can't

Yes you can.

Excess fares > Return ticket > Over distance > One leg > Return leg

 

[infobleep]

Thats a commercial decision for whicherver TOC has the equipment

But does it cost more because if it does that might explain why some don't offer it.

 

[Wallsendmag]

But does it cost more because if it does that might explain why some don't offer it.

I've no idea, I don't have bugs in every TOC Retail Systems office, yet

 

[Greenheart]

Yes you can.

Excess fares > Return ticket > Over distance > One leg > Return leg

The difference between a Saturday return with a railcard from St Pancras to Folkestone instead of Stratford International is 20p (it's 5p difference travelling from Faversham to Stratford/Stp). Would those sums be all that's payable for such an excess, or would it be based on the standard £6.20 for a journey between the two?

 

[Alex365Dash]

The difference between a Saturday return with a railcard from St Pancras to Folkestone instead of Stratford International is 20p (it's 5p difference travelling from Faversham to Stratford/Stp). Would those sums be all that's payable for such an excess, or would it be based on the standard £6.20 for a journey between the two?

There is no entitlement to an overdistance excess, so it depends on the staff member you get!

 

[Paul Kelly]

There are some mock-ups of Scheidt & Bachmann's new journey planner interface in this promo video:

(Haven't checked in detail if it covers whether there will still be a quick buy screen)

 

[Hadders]

And another of their promo videos. Not convinced it's going to be faster to purchase a straightforward ticket in the future...

 

[infobleep]

I hope they continue to make a non-journey planner option.

There are times of the day when tickets for multiple routes might only be valid on one and not the other.

Take someone who wants to finish a return journey short because the station they are returning to does not have a service so late. You couldn't replicate that on a journey planner.

There is a good reason for having a journey planner function but it shouldn't be one or the other but both.

 

[Krokodil]

The difference between a Saturday return with a railcard from St Pancras to Folkestone instead of Stratford International is 20p (it's 5p difference travelling from Faversham to Stratford/Stp). Would those sums be all that's payable for such an excess, or would it be based on the standard £6.20 for a journey between the two?

Yes, just the difference in fares.

 

[Greenheart]

Yes, just the difference in fares.

Interesting thanks, on my semi regular trips to Stratford I usually pay the extra 5p as a kind of insurance policy should I want or need to return from St p or indeed another London terminus.