A smartcard is essentially just a piece of plastic with an RFID chip in it. A contactless Debit card is essentially just a piece of plastic with an RFID chip in it.
With very few exceptions, majority of journeys on the Scotrail network are under the £30 contactless limit. So why can’t you simply tap in and out using your card, and the correct cheapest fare applied. Associate your railcard or other card with it online. Automatically credit delay repay to it. Presumably some simple method where a traveller boards a train to Inverness say with a higher fare, for the guards machine to “tap them out” with a £0 charge and buy a long distance ticket.
A ticket or smartcard is only a method of associating a product with a traveller.
London have been doing this for years without issue, presumably if you travel somewhere and don’t tap out a standard (penalty?) fare is applied. Presumably if you don’t tap in a standard (penalty ?) fare is applied.
In an age of apparent environmental awareness, ticket machines spooling dozens of pointless non recyclable tickets every few minutes for a series of £1.50 journeys, complete with return portions (why ?), card receipts etc. I am astonished This isn’t a bigger story.
Abellio’s risible attempts at smart ticketing (a target of 60% by April 2019 was missed spectacularly) are one of their less talked about failings.
Ticket machines should be removed, but only once a proper, sleeker, fully implemented smart system is rolled out. The number of Scotrail guards who simply wave my smartcard away because the machine isn’t working is astonishing.
And don’t get me started on the seperate, abysmal system of Subway ticketing and the integration of the two systems.
Quite why all these businesses feel the need to fill my pockets with needless bits of landfill when the technology all exists to rationalise and simplify this is beyond me.
One simple way of redressing some of the London/rUK transport divide would be simply to Use the very effective ticketing system they have nationwide, and reduce systems/development costs all over the country. Tap in with my Oyster or Debit Card in leafy Surrey, use it on Southern, LU, Avanti, Scotrail and Glasgow Subway, on one pre-loaded or instantly redeemed ticket. Sold and manageable by App, Ticket Machine or Guard.
Like you know, a modern integrated transport system. What a thought ....!