Warlus Card Expairy Date

gray1404 · 20 Dec 2019

I have a Merseytravel Walrus card. I understand that these have an expiry date. Is there any way I can work out when this might be?

I first obtained the card during the time Merseytravel were giving them out for free. It was last used on 04 January 2019. I am wanting to buy a Saveaway on 24 December 2019 and still use the card to avoid an additional £1 fee. If I board a bus or am passing a Merseyrail station or Paypoint between now and then I shall ask if they are able to tell me the card's expiry date.

However if there any way I can work this out for myself based on when I got the card or when it was last used?

If I happen to be going through Liverpool Lime Street before 24 December 2019 will the Northern ticket office or travel centre be able to issue me with a Saveaway a few days in Advance?

Thanks.

RailUK Forums

Fawkes Cat · 21 Dec 2019

I don't think you need to start worrying about expiry just yet. From https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://www.merseytravel.gov.uk/Tickets/Documents/WalrusCard%20FAQs.pdf&ved=2ahUKEwjC-KGJusXmAhUaM8AKHS5ECfUQFjACegQIBBAB&usg=AOvVaw2g54Stu9qIpiFq74Z15tNW

Q9. Will my tickets expire?
A. For Solo Weekly or 4-weekly tickets the expiry date will be set when the ticket
is first used. However, if the card is not used the product will expire after five
years when the Walrus card itself will expire

(my bold)

But just in case

Q16. How do I know when it’s expired so I can get a new one?
A. This can be checked at retail outlets, on bus by asking the driver or at a
Merseyrail station.,

transmanche · 21 Dec 2019

gray1404 said:
I have a Merseytravel Walrus card. I understand that these have an expiry date. Is there any way I can work out when this might be?

If you have an Android phone with NFC capability, then the Rambus 'Smart Ticket Checker' app will show you the card's expiry date. (All assuming that the Walrus card is ITSO-compliant.)

Here's what it shows for my Nexus Pop PAYG card:

danm14 · 21 Dec 2019

gray1404 said:
I have a Merseytravel Walrus card. I understand that these have an expiry date. Is there any way I can work out when this might be?

I first obtained the card during the time Merseytravel were giving them out for free. It was last used on 04 January 2019. I am wanting to buy a Saveaway on 24 December 2019 and still use the card to avoid an additional £1 fee. If I board a bus or am passing a Merseyrail station or Paypoint between now and then I shall ask if they are able to tell me the card's expiry date.

However if there any way I can work this out for myself based on when I got the card or when it was last used?

If I happen to be going through Liverpool Lime Street before 24 December 2019 will the Northern ticket office or travel centre be able to issue me with a Saveaway a few days in Advance?

Thanks.

There's an app you can use (if you have an Android phone which supports NFC) called Rambus Smart Ticket Checker. I remember checking some of mine (would have been obtained in 2017) and they reported as being valid for another five or ten years.

Edit: transmanche beat me to it

A paper Saveaway can be purchased for travel on any date in the future (up to 12 months ahead I think). A Walrus Saveaway can only be purchased for travel on the date of purchase or the day after.

tony_mac · 21 Dec 2019

I've got one that 'expired' a couple of weeks ago, but haven't tried to use it yet.
From past experience, if you have a card that doesn't work, they just replace it.

gray1404 · 21 Dec 2019

It's expired sadly.

CheapAndNerdy · 21 Dec 2019

I am visiting family and when I tried to add a saveaway at a co-op I was told it had expired on 14th November. I have used it several times this year, last time was in October. After attempting to do the same at a mcColls with the same result, I was offered a metro card (£1 deposit).

JBuchananGB · 21 Dec 2019

Just checked mine and it seems to be valid until 2023. Not that I'm likely to use it. Only got it when I needed a Saveaway for my granddaughter a few weeks ago.

gray1404 · 21 Dec 2019

Provided Lime Street can definitely issue one on paper stock a few days ahead, I'll get one issued there.

gray1404 · 21 Dec 2019

Can Chester print Saveaways on normal ticket stock?

danm14 · 21 Dec 2019

gray1404 said:
Can Chester print Saveaways on normal ticket stock?

Yes.

The only stations that won't are those managed by Merseyrail (every station on the Northern or Wirral line except Chester and upstairs at Lime Street)

gray1404 · 21 Dec 2019

It's a damn pain to say the least. Given Merseytravel are scrapping the Warlus card and replacing it with a Metro Card, Merseyrail should go back to printing them on orange ticket stock.

M28361M · 22 Dec 2019

You can now register your Walrus/Metro card at https://www.metro-smart.org.uk and it will tell you the expiry date and what products (if any) are loaded on it. This website will also apparently allow online purchase of some products in the near future.

I was rather annoyed to register mine on 13th December and discover that it was about to expire on the 15th. I got my Walrus not long after they were launched; during the initial period when there was no activation fee.

Is this expiry date a feature of all ITSO smartcards, or just a Merseytravel peculiarity?

transmanche · 22 Dec 2019

M28361M said:
Is this expiry date a feature of all ITSO smartcards, or just a Merseytravel peculiarity?

They all have it, but it appears that Merseytravel set a relatively short period before the card expires.

I seem to have acquired three ITSO cards. These are their expiry dates:

Nexus Pop PAYG card: expiry date in 2030
Stagecoach Smart: expiry date in 2029
Arriva Connect: expiry date in 2026

dutchflyer · 23 Dec 2019

5 years seems to be the most commonly used period, also due to steady improvements etc. on the systems that will in the end gradually make older cards obsolete, even when the expiry date has not been reached. Just as TfL has sometimes simply stopped accepting oldest stocks and forced people then to exchange them. Usually about any bankcard working with the same technology also gets replaced after around 5 yrs. Just as this story with the Walrus I would expect that transmanche with his 3 cards will not be able to use them till those final expiry dates, perhaps even the complete system of that company may again have changed before.

Warlus Card Expairy Date

gray1404

Established Member

RailUK Forums

Fawkes Cat

Established Member

transmanche

Established Member

danm14

Member

tony_mac

Established Member

gray1404

Established Member

Attachments

CheapAndNerdy

Member

JBuchananGB

Member

gray1404

Established Member

gray1404

Established Member

danm14

Member

gray1404

Established Member

M28361M

Member

transmanche

Established Member

dutchflyer

Established Member