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Merseyrail start selling tickets online

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M28361M

M28361M

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One regular criticism of Merseyrail round these parts is that they are steadfastly old-fashioned in the area of ticket purchase - generally you are expected to buy from a ticket office or a TVM (if available). No mobile tickets, no TOD collection of online bookings and a very limited range of smartcard products.

Well, I noticed today that they have dipped their toe into the online ticket purchasing business. It is now possible to buy All Zones Day Saver tickets online from https://www.pcitelecom.uk/merseyrail-day-saver-tickets/ (yes, I know this is a weird web site address, but it is linked from Merseyrail's main website so it is legitimate).

It says tickets will be emailed to you as a PDF. I haven't actually tried to purchase a ticket, so I don't know whether the PDF matches the usual e-ticket format as used by other TOCs, or if Merseyrail have gone their own way as they sometimes do. It's also unclear if you need to print the ticket or if showing it on a phone screen will suffice.

It's a start, I suppose! I wonder if this is a trial ahead of a wider rollout with a greater variety of ticket products?
 
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_toommm_

_toommm_

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I guess it's part of their advertising campaign to sell 'the cheapest tickets to anywhere in the country', that's appeared at lots of Merseyrail stations recently...
 
causton

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I have just bought one as a test and it does not follow any of the standard e-Ticket or m-Ticket formats. It has a code but it is a QR code, not even an AZTEC code, and specifically says it will not work ticket barriers!
 
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gray1404

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Perhaps you could post a copy of it once it has expired and are no longer using it? Same price as buying at a station and with the additional requirement to carry ID. There is also the added risk that if one is showing the PDF on their device (rather then a print out) their battery could die and they are issued with a penalty fare.
 
causton

causton

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gray1404 said:
Perhaps you could post a copy of it once it has expired and are no longer using it? Same price as buying at a station and with the additional requirement to carry ID. There is also the added risk that if one is showing the PDF on their device (rather then a print out) their battery could die and they are issued with a penalty fare.
Click to expand...

It is very, very basic!

I have redacted out the details and the QR code has been slightly removed, but:

upload_2019-7-25_18-40-52.png

Day Saver Tickets are valid for unlimited off-peak travel on Merseyrail's Northern and Wirral lines for the date on the ticket. Day Savers cannot be used in peak hours, between 06.31 and 09.29 Monday to Friday, excluding Bank Holidays. When travelling on the Merseyrail network you may be asked to provide ID to confirm that you are the person named on this ticket. If your ticket covers more than one person the named person must be travelling in the group. Anyone aged 16-18 travelling with an 18 and under Day Saver ticket may be asked for ID by staff to ensure that they are the correct age. Please ensure that you have ID with you before you travel. Free 16-18 ID cards are available from Merseyrail stations, please ask a member of staff for more information. PDF tickets cannot be scanned by our automatic station gates. Please show your ticket to staff by the wide gate at underground stations who will quickly check it for you.
Click to expand...

On the reverse is a map, which includes just the Northern and Wirral lines as stated:

upload_2019-7-25_18-41-36.png
 
Merseysider

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causton said:
I have just bought one as a test and it does not follow any of the standard e-Ticket or m-Ticket formats. It has a code but it is a QR code, not even an AZTEC code, and specifically says it will not work ticket barriers!
Click to expand...
Progress ;)
 
Saperstein

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A good start I suppose but of course for another 10p, the Saveaway ticket is better value as it allows travel Not only on Merseyrail, but on buses, some other national rail services and even the Mersey ferry...

Saperstein.
 
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danm14

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Saperstein said:
A good start I suppose but of course for another 10p, the Saveaway ticket is better value as it allows travel Not only on Merseyrail, but on buses, some other national rail services and even the Mersey ferry...

Saperstein.
Click to expand...

Merseyrail make more money from Daysavers (£5.30) than from Saveaways (a percentage of £5.40)

If a ticket seller suggests you might want to pay an extra 10p for much more validity, the vast majority of people will do so just in case, even if they have no intention of using it.

If you increase that price difference to £1.10 for no good reason (perhaps by making you purchase a £1 Walrus card despite the facility to print it on paper being there), the number willing to pay the extra will drop significantly.

And now, by allowing the ticket to be purchased online, fewer people have the conversation with the ticket seller and get offered the better value (but less profitable to Merseyrail) ticket.

The more people buying a DaySaver instead of a Saveaway, the happier Merseyrail are. If these people then find themselves needing to make an unexpected bus, ferry or City Line train journey, everyone involved has made more money than if they'd bought a Saveaway in the first place.
 
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gray1404

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There was a time, and it lasted for about a year, when an Area C Saveaway cost slightly less less then a return from Blundellsands to Liverpool. I was always told an Area C Saveaway by the booking office at Blundellsands even if I asked for a return to Liverpool.
 
Saperstein

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danm14 said:
Merseyrail make more money from Daysavers (£5.30) than from Saveaways (a percentage of £5.40)

If a ticket seller suggests you might want to pay an extra 10p for much more validity, the vast majority of people will do so just in case, even if they have no intention of using it.

If you increase that price difference to £1.10 for no good reason (perhaps by making you purchase a £1 Walrus card despite the facility to print it on paper being there), the number willing to pay the extra will drop significantly.

And now, by allowing the ticket to be purchased online, fewer people have the conversation with the ticket seller and get offered the better value (but less profitable to Merseyrail) ticket.

The more people buying a DaySaver instead of a Saveaway, the happier Merseyrail are. If these people then find themselves needing to make an unexpected bus, ferry or City Line train journey, everyone involved has made more money than if they'd bought a Saveaway in the first place.
Click to expand...

Agreed, I knew about Merseyrail making more money on their own ticket from a previous thread.

I was cynical when I read about said ticket being available online but didn’t word my post correctly.

Obviously once the Walrus card is bought it can be reused, I’ve never tried getting a Saveaway on orange ticket stock from a Merseyrail station, they’d probably flat out refuse but what if you just had £5.40 in change and no more?

At Chester the rail only version is sold via the home screen on the TVM, I couldn’t find a way to get the TVM to issue the Saveaway variant, which surprises me as the station, and therefore the TVMs are run by Tfw and I can’t see them having any vested interest in Merseyrail profits!

I did try pressing the ITSO button but it didn’t want to know the Walrus card. (Said something like invalid directory).


Saperstein.
 
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I wonder was there some kind of "franchise commitment" (I know it's not a classic franchise) to sell tickets online, and this is a sneaky workaround to meet the letter (rather than spirit) of that?
 
_toommm_

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Bletchleyite said:
I wonder was there some kind of "franchise commitment" (I know it's not a classic franchise) to sell tickets online, and this is a sneaky workaround to meet the letter (rather than spirit) of that?
Click to expand...

Reminds me of TPE with their MK3 coaches...
 
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Saperstein said:
Agreed, I knew about Merseyrail making more money on their own ticket from a previous thread.

I was cynical when I read about said ticket being available online but didn’t word my post correctly.

Obviously once the Walrus card is bought it can be reused, I’ve never tried getting a Saveaway on orange ticket stock from a Merseyrail station, they’d probably flat out refuse but what if you just had £5.40 in change and no more?

At Chester the rail only version is sold via the home screen on the TVM, I couldn’t find a way to get the TVM to issue the Saveaway variant, which surprises me as the station, and therefore the TVMs are run by Tfw and I can’t see them having any vested interest in Merseyrail profits!

I did try pressing the ITSO button but it didn’t want to know the Walrus card. (Said something like invalid directory).


Saperstein.
Click to expand...
The £1 Walrus card charge was introduced by Merseytravel to avoid wastage. Obviously it is a non issue for most users who are regular. My understanding is that Merseyrail stations have agreed to only issue Saveaways on Walrus cards. As this requires human intervention (a bit like putting a credit card in a PIN machine) I can't see TVMs accepting them anytime soon.
 
mattdickinson

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Djgr said:
The £1 Walrus card charge was introduced by Merseytravel to avoid wastage. Obviously it is a non issue for most users who are regular. My understanding is that Merseyrail stations have agreed to only issue Saveaways on Walrus cards. As this requires human intervention (a bit like putting a credit card in a PIN machine) I can't see TVMs accepting them anytime soon.
Click to expand...
London Underground TVMs vend Oyster cards..
 
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Djgr said:
The £1 Walrus card charge was introduced by Merseytravel to avoid wastage. Obviously it is a non issue for most users who are regular. My understanding is that Merseyrail stations have agreed to only issue Saveaways on Walrus cards. As this requires human intervention (a bit like putting a credit card in a PIN machine) I can't see TVMs accepting them anytime soon.
Click to expand...

LU have managed to automate most things about issuing and topping up Oysters...
 
D

Djgr

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Merseysider said:
Neither can I, although that's due to Merseyrail's lackadaisical attitude to ticketing, rather than the technology not being out there (it is).
Click to expand...
Indeed. There are few Merseyrail TVMs and I can't see them being updated, given the desired provision of staff at every ticket office.
I think the Walrus card as being a bit of a cul de sac. The next battle to offer the equivalent of Oyster forward in a useful way requires (re-) control over the buses where Liverpool City Region seem to be next in line after Manchester in terms of making happen. Walrus is a great name though.
 
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Birkonian

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The OP mentions the worst fault of Merseyrail which is the lack of TVMs from which tickets purchased online can be collected. There are none in Wirral - nearest are Lime Street and Chester - so tickets for journeys commencing in Wirral have to be sent by post if there is no smartphone/print at home option.
 
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I don’t think there any TVMs with TOD capability in Borough of Sefton (Bootle to Southport etc.), so tickets usually have to be posted. Fortunately the Virgin web site does not charge for delivery by 1st class post.
 
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