Could changes be made to allow on board human ticket sales to end?

[yorkie]

... I can't see how ticket inspection and sales duties can be removed from I bard trains in Northern land

Agreed.

The best hope is that one day they can have a similar set up to the Glasgow suburban electrics, where friendly, helpful staff are constantly patrolling the train selling tickets at all times, but I think we could be a very long way off having that in Northern land!

 

[Meerkat]

Two comments.
Tap in tap out on trains would destroy dwell times. The authenticator would have to be right by the door so anyone with luggage, bike, pushchair would have to either load everything into the vestibule, then faff about getting card out and return it (have you seen how long people at checkouts can take finding cards from wallets/handbags?!?) then gather up all their stuff before the next person can board. And the safety risk for children would go through the roof as parents have to let go of them at the most dangerous point of a train journey. And how many cards are going to end up going down the platform/train gap?!!

It’s common practice to have different prices for different payment types (DD discounts etc).
Wouldn’t the quickest pay train method to be that the guard only sells singles to the end of the line or the biggest interchange place, and those singles cost a pound or two more than e-tickets or TVM?
Less faffing for guard and incentives for people to make the effort to buy before boarding.

 

[ashkeba]

Tap in tap out on trains would destroy dwell times. The authenticator would have to be right by the door

Why? It is not on various other vehicles.

 

[edwin_m]

Why? It is not on various other vehicles.

Because people standing in the vestibule would still need to tap out, and if the reader was anywhere else they would have to force their way against the flow of alighting passengers to do so. Not such an issue on buses, as the reader can be near the "do not stand forward of this point" line. I can't think of any trams with tap-out validator, but from observing the tap-in variety I'm strongly of the view that putting them on platforms is better.

 

[Llanigraham]

Why? It is not on various other vehicles.

From my limited experience it slows down the loading on buses; bus stops, people have to get off then there is a queue of people getting on, each one hopefully tapping in first time, but often the system not working properly so making a delay.
Now transfer that situation to say 60 people all trying to get onto a train with only 4 doors, at a busy station.

 

[6Gman]

I never said it was easy.

I think I also never said replace or eliminate other ticket sales and that is an invention of whoever titled this thread.


You tell people where the ticket machines are by a standard marking on the outside of the train. I do not understand why the UK rail regulator seems to have failed to require basic standardisation of external markings for train facilities. I guess ATOC or similar would do it if they prioritised passengers.

Yes, it would still need enough machines and enough staff but that is true of any service.

Are you now saying they would only be at some doors ?

 

[6Gman]

Why? It is not on various other vehicles.

Because on buses they have replaced an even slower process of drivers issuing tickets, which was already built in to schedules.

 

[6Gman]

Two comments.
Tap in tap out on trains would destroy dwell times. The authenticator would have to be right by the door so anyone with luggage, bike, pushchair would have to either load everything into the vestibule, then faff about getting card out and return it (have you seen how long people at checkouts can take finding cards from wallets/handbags?!?) then gather up all their stuff before the next person can board. And the safety risk for children would go through the roof as parents have to let go of them at the most dangerous point of a train journey. And how many cards are going to end up going down the platform/train gap?!!

This.