Why can't e-tickets be displayed on a tablet or laptop ?

sheff1 · 30 Jul 2019

Apologies if this has been answered previously, but I couldn't see anything. I was just looking at buying a ticket via the CrossCountry site and the delivery options for an e-ticket were listed as

Show the tickets on your phone
Print the tickets out
Download the tickets to our app
Add the tickets to Apple Wallet

If you can display the ticket (I assume as a PDF ?) on a phone why is it not acceptable to display exactly the same thing on a tablet or laptop ?

RailUK Forums

gray1404 · 30 Jul 2019

It is acceptable to show it on any device. I've witnessed such tickets be accepted on tablets and in one case on a laptop.

Merseysider · 30 Jul 2019

sheff1 said:
Why can't e-tickets be displayed on a tablet or laptop?

They can; the QR/Aztec code is all that matters.

But for matters of practicality, I'd rather be holding my phone above the ticket barrier than trying to balance and manoeuvre an open laptop.

pdeaves · 30 Jul 2019

For most practical purposes, a tablet is just a massive phone and a laptop is just a massive phone with a massive input device. Don't worry about it, the spirit of the rule is what will work here.

sheff1 · 30 Jul 2019

Thanks for the replies (no barriers at York or Sheffield by the way and I don't have a smartphone), but I always prefer to go with what is actually documented when it comes to railway ticketing rather than "the spirit" of the rules, so I printed the ticket out.

Is there an official statement somewhere which confirms that displaying an e-ticket on a tablet is acceptable ?

Wallsendmag · 30 Jul 2019

No but you can always print it.

westv · 30 Jul 2019

Wallsendmag said:
No but you can always print it.

I've had TMs clip my "print at home" tickets and also write on them.
Can they do this with tablets or laptops?

SephenWorceste · 30 Jul 2019

westv said:
I've had TMs clip my "print at home" tickets and also write on them.
Can they do this with tablets or laptops?

Yes. Every ticket barrier and portable scanner (if carried by a guard) can record the ticket number from the 2D barcode. Eventually this could be fed back to a big database. Analysis of this data could detect misuse of a ticket such as using the same ticket multiple times. As each ticket is purchased by a debit or credit card then the card could be blocked from future purchases and potentially a fraudster traced.

Best wishes, Stephen.

westv · 30 Jul 2019

SephenWorceste said:
Yes. Every ticket barrier and portable scanner (if carried by a guard) can record the ticket number from the 2D barcode. Eventually this could be fed back to a big database. Analysis of this data could detect misuse of a ticket such as using the same ticket multiple times. As each ticket is purchased by a debit or credit card then the card could be blocked from future purchases and potentially a fraudster traced.

Best wishes, Stephen.

Que?!

pdeaves · 31 Jul 2019

westv said:
Que?!

It's an elaborate way of saying yes, they do 'clip' tickets on phones (etc.). Obviously not physically, but it is recorded.

kristiang85 · 31 Jul 2019

pdeaves said:
It's an elaborate way of saying yes, they do 'clip' tickets on phones (etc.). Obviously not physically, but it is recorded.

So why would they bother clipping the physical ones then, as surely these are also recorded in the database? As otherwise people could just print out as many as they like. It just seems a waste of (admittedly small) time to deface printed electronic tickets.

maniacmartin · 31 Jul 2019

It can sometimes be handy for Delay Repay if your e-ticket is clipped though, as it can prove which train you were on.

_toommm_ · 31 Jul 2019

And how do they stop misuse of paper tickets I.e. what's to stop an open return being used multiple times. If it was suspected, can they check and swipes on the mag strip?

Clip · 31 Jul 2019

_toommm_ said:
And how do they stop misuse of paper tickets I.e. what's to stop an open return being used multiple times

Nothing . It does happen too.

_toommm_ said:
If it was suspected, can they check and swipes on the mag strip?

Generally only shows the last place it went through.

Wallsendmag · 31 Jul 2019

SephenWorceste said:
Yes. Every ticket barrier and portable scanner (if carried by a guard) can record the ticket number from the 2D barcode. Eventually this could be fed back to a big database. Analysis of this data could detect misuse of a ticket such as using the same ticket multiple times. As each ticket is purchased by a debit or credit card then the card could be blocked from future purchases and potentially a fraudster traced.

Best wishes, Stephen.

Don't know about eventually ,it happens now.

Wallsendmag · 31 Jul 2019

maniacmartin said:
It can sometimes be handy for Delay Repay if your e-ticket is clipped though, as it can prove which train you were on.

We can trace the service it was used on from the reference in an e-TVD (Electonic Ticket Validation Database)

Wallsendmag · 31 Jul 2019

kristiang85 said:
So why would they bother clipping the physical ones then, as surely these are also recorded in the database? As otherwise people could just print out as many as they like. It just seems a waste of (admittedly small) time to deface printed electronic tickets.

Totally pointless, our message is if you see a barcode scan it and let DORIS(our onboard TIS) tell you if it's valid.

maniacmartin · 1 Aug 2019

Wallsendmag said:
We can trace the service it was used on from the reference in an e-TVD (Electonic Ticket Validation Database)

Sadly, many TOCs' Delay Repay departments seem unable/unwilling to even read information that is submitted on the form or acknowledge cancelled trains ever existed in the timetable, so my faith in them being able or willing to access this e-TVD is pretty low. That's why I would always recommend that the passenger gets their own evidence of what train they were on.

AY1975 · 1 Aug 2019

maniacmartin said:
It can sometimes be handy for Delay Repay if your e-ticket is clipped though, as it can prove which train you were on.

That is, if it was clipped using a proper ticket clipper that stamps the date and train reporting number on your ticket. Some conductors do use these (they were pretty much universal in the last few years of BR before privatisation), but many of them use a hole puncher or just make a pen mark on your ticket. In the latter case they sometimes write the train reporting number on your ticket, but from my experience they usually just do a squiggle.

Obviously, if they use a hole puncher or just do a squiggle, then there is no way of telling which train you were on.

SephenWorceste · 1 Aug 2019

Wallsendmag said:
We can trace the service it was used on from the reference in an e-TVD (Electonic Ticket Validation Database)

Thank you for the information. I was not sure if the database and the links to scanners was up and running yet. In my area the stations are not gated and the guards are not yet using portable scanners.

Please could I ask how break of journey works as I believe an exit through a gate will mark the ticket as used.

Best wishes, Stephen.

Wallsendmag · 2 Aug 2019

SephenWorceste said:
Thank you for the information. I was not sure if the database and the links to scanners was up and running yet. In my area the stations are not gated and the guards are not yet using portable scanners.

Please could I ask how break of journey works as I believe an exit through a gate will mark the ticket as used.

Best wishes, Stephen.

With our scan it shows location of scan it's more about being marked as seen rather than used.

SephenWorceste · 2 Aug 2019

Thank you. I like these new tickets but I hope it does not mean we lose our ticket offices and travel centres. In my are there are very few stations with barriers, ticket check on trains cannot often be done and even then the guards do not seem to have barcode scanners. Hopefully they will resolve these issues. Without the barcode being scanned the text part of the ticket is very easy to forge.

Best wishes, Stephen.

Why can't e-tickets be displayed on a tablet or laptop ?

Established Member

RailUK Forums

Established Member

Established Member

Established Member

Established Member

Established Member

Established Member

Member

Established Member

Established Member

Established Member

Established Member

Established Member

Established Member

Established Member

Established Member

Established Member

Established Member

Established Member

Member

Established Member

Member