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Chiltern Smartcard

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adamskiodp

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Hi Folks.

Will a one day travelcard loaded onto a Chiltern smartcard work the barriers at London Underground stations and on London buses, or only at Chiltern stations?

Thanks.

Adam
 
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adamskiodp

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Hi again, had an issue with Chiltern Smartcards on Friday, if anyone can help

I purchased one adult and one child one day off peak Travelcard (with F&F discount) from Amersham to zones 1-9 on the Chiltern phone app. Applied 1st ticket (assumed to be the adult one) to Smartcard 1 for me and applied ticket 2 (assumed to be child ticket) to smartcard 2 for my daughter.

Touched in at Amersham station gateline (which were left open), Smartcard 1 worked barrier but Smartcard 2 did not and said seek assistance, but couldn’t see any staff around so went through open barrier anyway (I had email confirmation that 1 adult and 1 child ticket were on 2 separate Smartcards).

When exiting at Goldhawk Road LU station, Card 1 worked barrier but Card 2 again said seek assistance. Person in ticket office opened gateline for my daughter to pass through. Daughters card had the same issues on return journey so I just took her through the wide barrier with me to exit at Amersham.

When I checked the journey history next morning only Card 1 showed anything, Card 2 shoes no journey history. Also According to Chiltern app, only Smartcard 1 showed as having any ticket on it (expired).

Any ideas why confirmation email would show that tickets were on two Smartcards, when in reality only one seemed to have a ticket on it? Did one Smartcard actually have both tickets on it, or do they not accept child and/or discounted tickets on them?

It can’t be that the gatelines stop child tickets on Smartcards entering as we’ve never had a problem with child paper tickets working the barriers.

Sorry for the ramble, just confused as to what actually happened.
 

CyrusWuff

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It could be the case that it'll only allow you to load a Child ticket onto a Smartcard that's setup as a Child one. The Ticket Offices at Aylesbury and Marylebone can issue such a card, though may not be able to do so while you wait. You'll need to provide them with the Child's details - including date of birth - for them to be able to do so.

However, it shouldn't be possible to load a Zones 1 to 9 Travelcard (or any other combination that doesn't start from outside the Travelcard Area) onto an ITSO Smartcard at all, given it's a TfL product so should only be available in paper form when issued by a TOC (or on Oyster when buying a Travelcard Season).
 

adamskiodp

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No child entitlement setup on a card, also the tickets were for zones 1-6 (but valid to zone 9).

When I asked Chiltern if a child could have a smartcard the reply was “You can get another card and a child can use it however you would have to manage the account

I ordered 2 Smartcards from Chiltern. One named Main card and one named Guest card. The main card is for me and I wanted the guest card to be used by whoever was accompanying me (friend, spouse or child).

The app allows you to buy adult and child tickets with railcard discount but doesn’t specifically say which ticket is going onto which card, it just says that you have purchased :

Amersham (AMR) to London Marylebone (MYB)

1 adult, 1 child with railcard(s) applied

Delivery
Smartcard



    • Passenger 1:Adam’s Main Card 6****************4|Mr Adam S******
    • Passenger 2:Adam's Guest Card 6****************7|Mr Adam S******
Collect your tickets
To collect your tickets, touch your Smartcard on the yellow reader on the barrier or validator at Amersham.

The next day only the main card showed as having had ticket on it but now expired (and corresponding journey history), the guest card showed no record of any ticket on it or journey history.

Maybe I’ll pop along to the station and ask.

Many thanks for the help.

Adam
 

causton

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Maybe I’ll pop along to the station and ask.

If the station in question is Amersham, I wouldn't bother - as it's a TfL station they wouldn't know anything about smartcards.

It sounds like the issue is that the child needs their own personalised smartcard with their child entitlement (and possibly name and ID) encoded onto the card.
 

adamskiodp

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If the station in question is Amersham, I wouldn't bother - as it's a TfL station they wouldn't know anything about smartcards.

It sounds like the issue is that the child needs their own personalised smartcard with their child entitlement (and possibly name and ID) encoded onto the card.


My local station is Aylesbury, it’s just cheaper to drive to Amersham, park in the car park and get the train from there. I’ll try at Aylesbury after rush hour this week.

Thanks again
 

Ralph Ayres

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the tickets were for zones 1-6 (but valid to zone 9)

Hmmm. Semantics here. While the TOCs call it an Amersham to Zones 1-6 ticket it's what LU would call a Z1-9 Travelcard. Either way, tickets shouldn't be issued on an ITSO smart card unless they're from outside the normal Travelcard area (which includes Amersham). Not a rule the purchaser needs to know; Chiltern just shouldn't offer the option.
 

adamskiodp

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So, next question.

Assuming I have to go back to paper travel cards, will I be able to print them from an NR station outside the travel zones?

Or can I buy them at the LUL ticket machine with an F&F railcard discount?

Adam
 

hkstudent

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So, next question.

Assuming I have to go back to paper travel cards, will I be able to print them from an NR station outside the travel zones?

Or can I buy them at the LUL ticket machine with an F&F railcard discount?

Adam
You can print a National Rail paper day travelcard at any national rail station including National Rail stations in London Travelcard Zone.
 

hkstudent

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So even though the ticket starts at Amersham I should still be able to print it at an NR station eg Aylesbury?

Thanks
If Amersham Station ticket machine can print tickets in National Rail ticket stock, you can do that at Amersham as well.
London Underground machine will sell paper travelcard in TfL pink stock while London Overground / TfL Rail machine will sell in National Rail ticket stock.

But, it would be cheaper for OP's children to get a ZIP Oyster Card as the off-peak day cap is only £1.50 for 11-15 years old, and free for 6-10 years old.

https://tfl.gov.uk/fares/free-and-discounted-travel/11-15-zip-oyster-photocard
https://tfl.gov.uk/fares/free-and-discounted-travel/5-10-zip-oyster-photocard
 

adamskiodp

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Thanks hkstudent.

I did look into this but £15 is a lot to pay for 2 or 3 trips a year. The F&F child ticket is only £2.70

l just buy online and collect from Aylesbury ticket machine before I drive to Amersham :)

Not sure if LUL ticket machines will allow you to buy with a F&F railcard discount.
 
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hkstudent

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Thanks hkstudent.

I did look into this but £15 is a lot to pay for 2 or 3 trips a year. The F&F child ticket is only £2.70

l just buy online and collect from Aylesbury ticket machine before I drive to Amersham :)

Not sure if LUL ticket machines will allow you to buy with a F&F railcard discount.
There are cashback be available for Chiltern Rilway from some cashback website.
TfL machine can sell travelcard in railcard discount, but I will go and check whether it is possible to do child and railcard combo.
 

hkstudent

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Thankyou hkstudent

Please don't make a special trip on my account, I’ll be going again myself in a few weeks.
BW
Please have a play around the ticket machine at Amersham if you have time, to see whether it can print NR tickets, and sell NR tickets for indirect destinations.
 
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adamskiodp

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So, I have had a reply from Chiltern regarding why the child ticket didn’t load onto the smartcard.

“Thank you for your time and patience with this matter, the providers have asked me to report this to the barrier teams as there seems to be an error reading these at the barriers to load the tickets on. I have now sent this on so this should then be rectified.

I am sorry this has taken time to try to resolve for you.

Kind Regards”

Not sure what it means though. Is the fault with TFL’s card readers at Amersham, or as has been suggested, is it that TFL oyster readers don’t work with NR Smartcards?
 
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