• Our booking engine at tickets.railforums.co.uk (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!

"Important information about Key Smartcard Single and Return tickets" email from Southern

Status
Not open for further replies.
D

dmncf

Member
Joined
4 Sep 2012
Messages
348
I have just received the following email from Southern about the Key Smartcard, which might be of interest. The email gives me the impression that the people managing the system are struggling with its technical constraints. Nevertheless, I support it if it brings us closer to a simple, widely-accepted method for pay-as-you go rail travel outside the Oyster area. -

"Important information about Key Smartcard Single and Return tickets

In May we contacted you about our plans to make big system changes to the Key Smartcard so in the future it can be used at more destinations beyond our network. We had to remove Smart Singles and Returns temporarily for sale through our website due to a technical problem. Unfortunately, it has not been possible to resolve the issue and Smart Singles and Returns will no longer be available for sale online.

You can still purchase Smart Single and Return tickets from our self-service ticket machines outside London (excluding Merstham, Redhill, Earlswood, Salfords, Horley and Gatwick Airport).

Alternatively, you can sign up for keyGo, our Pay As You Go service on the Key Smartcard. With keyGo, simply sign up online, avoid queues and tap in and out as normal. We will work out the best fare to charge for the journeys you make including Peak, Off-Peak and Super-Off peak fares depending on when and where you travel. In the next few months, you will be able to have railcard discounts applied to your journeys. Visit southernrailway.com/keygo for further information.

We will send further updates on the exciting new technical capabilities and destinations of the Key Smartcard as soon as possible."
Click to expand...
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Sponsor Post - registered members do not see these adverts; click here to register, or click here to log in
R

RailUK Forums

gordonthemoron

gordonthemoron

Established Member
Joined
4 Sep 2006
Messages
6,594
Location
Milton Keynes
Computer says no

Really, who is responsible for their booking system. This sounds ridiculous, Can't book online? WHich century are we in?
 
R

radamfi

Established Member
Joined
29 Oct 2009
Messages
9,267
I've never seen much point in Smart Singles and Returns, especially since KeyGo started. Railcard non-availability was a big minus point. Hopefully we will be able to get railcard discounted Travelcards on KeyGo.

The biggest question should be: Why aren't other TOCs providing a pay-as-you-go facility?
 
S

sheff1

Established Member
Joined
24 Dec 2009
Messages
5,496
Location
Sheffield
radamfi said:
The biggest question should be: Why aren't other TOCs providing a pay-as-you-go facility?
Click to expand...

The biggest question for me is - why would anyway trust a company which cannot sell a simple Single online to correctly "work out the best fare to charge for the journeys you make including Peak, Off-Peak and Super-Off peak fares depending on when and where you travel" /
 
P

Pixa

Member
Joined
29 Dec 2012
Messages
11
Yeah, I saw this email too. When it works, the key works well. I have a Bognor to Gatwick annual season ticket and it's so convenient tapping in and out of stations instead of having to fumble with paper.

When it doesn't work it's incredibly frustrating:
  • I can't buy tickets on the key at all at Gatwick Airport, because they're all Oyster machines
  • I can't buy standard class travelcards from Three Bridges
  • I can't change the starting station or travel date when buying smart tickets from a ticket machine, whereas the same ticket machines will happily let me purchase paper tickets from all manner of origins and valid on dates well into the future.
keyGo is a bit useless for me as well. Bognor to Gatwick covers a good portion of the Southern Network and if I'm going to London, I almost always end up catching the tube somewhere, for which the most economical ticket is a paper day travelcard...

At least I live in the middle of Southern-land. I can't imagine how annoying it must be to be on the border with SWR or Southeastern, especially when the latter also has a key...

Maybe in 10 years time we'll all be living in a glorious smart ticketing enabled future.
 
S

smsm1

Member
Joined
3 Nov 2015
Messages
196
Pixa said:
Maybe in 10 years time we'll all be living in a glorious smart ticketing enabled future.
Click to expand...
I look forward to the day when any ITSO smart card can be used on any bus, train, or ferry operator. Or maybe we'll jump beyond that to using bank cards instead.
 
J

Joe Paxton

Established Member
Joined
12 Jan 2017
Messages
2,465
smsm1 said:
I look forward to the day when any ITSO smart card can be used on any bus, train, or ferry operator. Or maybe we'll jump beyond that to using bank cards instead.
Click to expand...

I gave up looking forward to anything sensible or progressive happening in the realm of ITSO smartcards a long time ago.
 
I

infobleep

Veteran Member
Joined
27 Feb 2011
Messages
12,662
Wallsendmag said:
I would expect it's tied into their link to the RDG HOPS and previously being on their own product set.
Click to expand...
What does this mean? If they weren't tied to their own product set would it more than likely work? Is it due to in house custom programming over using off the shelf software supported by external companies?

Wallsendmag said:
I spent a happy ten minutes today testing a TPE, SWR,EMT and Northern card on the gates in Newcastle
Click to expand...
How did the testing go? I appreciate if you can't say.
 
B

bubieyehyeh

Member
Joined
25 Feb 2016
Messages
321
KeyGo is not a suitable replacement for single and return tickets.
Keygo doesn't support buying railcard discounted tickets and requires a deposit.
Keygo is limited to GTR trains with only a small number of exceptions, but those do not cover all the TOCs that operate on KeyGo routes (notably TFL)
 
Last edited:
R

radamfi

Established Member
Joined
29 Oct 2009
Messages
9,267
bubieyehyeh said:
KeyGo is not a suitable replacement for single and return tickets.
Keygo doesn't support buying railcard discounted tickets and requires a deposit.
Keygo is limited to GTR trains with only a small number of exceptions, but those do not cover all the TOCs that operate on KeyGo routes (notably TFL)
Click to expand...

Keygo doesn't support railcards right now but according to the above railcard acceptance is planned.

There is no deposit required any more.
 
Saperstein

Saperstein

Member
Joined
28 May 2019
Messages
517
Location
Chester
radamfi said:
Keygo doesn't support railcards right now but according to the above railcard acceptance is planned.

There is no deposit required any more.
Click to expand...

Railcard acceptance has been planned from the start of KeyGo.

I wonder why they are taking so long to implement it? ;)

Saperstein.
 
B

bubieyehyeh

Member
Joined
25 Feb 2016
Messages
321
Yeah I wonder how they will implement it (if ever)

I assume a visit to a station to show railcard/goldcard to add flag to card like oyster. However I've never got the impression the ticket office staff don't have a way to talk to the smartcards. So perhaps it will be photograph your railcard and email customer support.

I also wonder how they will handle the timing of discounts. e.g Goldcard valid after 9.30am. So will you need to touch in after 9.30am and dash to catch a 9.33am train. Or will they allow some leaway and accept taps from earlier than 9.30am.

The biggest restriction of keygo for me and others is not being able to use it on TFL trains (e.g. London Overground). The previous smart tickets were valid on other operators, even if TFL couldn't check them.

I assume fares on keygo don't have to be shared with other tocs (except the GWR reigate bit).
 
R

radamfi

Established Member
Joined
29 Oct 2009
Messages
9,267
On Dutch railways you can choose to have your smartcard set to either 1st or 2nd class. You can change that on a ticket machine. So it would make sense to do something similar for railcards.
 
ForTheLoveOf

ForTheLoveOf

Established Member
Joined
7 Oct 2017
Messages
6,416
bubieyehyeh said:
I also wonder how they will handle the timing of discounts. e.g Goldcard valid after 9.30am. So will you need to touch in after 9.30am and dash to catch a 9.33am train. Or will they allow some leaway and accept taps from earlier than 9.30am.
Click to expand...
Such leeway is already given with peak and off-peak fares on Oyster - see here. Of course I hardly think we can expect the same common sense from a private operator!
 
A

adamello

Member
Joined
9 Nov 2016
Messages
230
Joe Paxton said:
I gave up looking forward to anything sensible or progressive happening in the realm of ITSO smartcards a long time ago.
Click to expand...
I've said before somewhere on here, I have a SolentGo ITSO smartcard, the idea being it's joined up between buses and ferry operators.

Unfortunately it isn't at all joined up, you can but a 'First' bus ticket on it (seasons / rangers etc only) and / or a seperate 'GoVia' bus ticket (again seasons / rangers etc only) and / or a ferry carnet ticket.
it would be more useful to use it to buy through tickets from one operator to another, or if there is a carnet style ticket that has a nominative value (ie £3) per journey of any form or operator. so you could buy 10 journeys to use on whatever means necessary, then it would become very attractive
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Top