Digital Railcard Warning

[Starmill]

Perhaps an Off Peak Railcard is what's needed? No travel before 09.00 or between 16.00 - 19.00 perhaps? Utilise some of that daytime capacity, might be particularly beneficial for increasing off peak demand on routes where Advances aren't available?

Have you seen the SNCF Jeune Carte? 50 Euros a year for those aged 18-27. On reservation compulsory trains you get 10% of Prems fares (the cheapest, inflexible Advance tickets), 30% off Losisir fares (semi-flexible mid-priced Advance tickets). On non-reservable trains a discount of 25% applies at peak times and 50% at off-peak times. Peak times are shown in white in the attached image and (shock horror) actually correspond to the busiest times of the week for train travel.

I have no wish to upset Yorksrob but the French offer a weekend railcard which anyone is eligible for (Edit: it might actually only be anyone from the EU I'm not sure), although it does cost 75 Euros a year. I wonder if RDG are looking closely at a National Weekend & Bank Holiday card as part of their research?

Translating this into something that might work in the UK is difficult but I think that Monday to Thursday daytimes are a good area to look at offering a greater discount, both by making more people elligible for discounts and maybe also by offering a bigger % discount. If the trade-off is a smaller % discount on Friday evenings and Sunday afternoons then so be it.

[For those unable to see the image time restrictions are generally 2 hours in the morning and 90 minutes in the evening, except Fridays and Sundays where most of the afternoon is barred, and there are no restrictions on Saturdays].

 

[yorksrob]

Until everyone has a smartphone, I am sure physical railcards are safe. However I'd expect usage to be massively reduced over time to the point where most cards will be digital. Students will probably be 99%.

Plus we may never truly know if there are serious problems with the app (bugs, compatibility issues) because those without a railcard will likely make up excuses and blame the app unfairly.

Until smart phones get much better I can't see digital cards becoming that popular voluntarily.

 

[Clip]

Until smart phones get much better I can't see digital cards becoming that popular voluntarily.

Not sure why they need to get much better to hold a simple app.

And they appear to be very popular from what ive heard from ex colleagues

 

[BestWestern]

Until smart phones get much better I can't see digital cards becoming that popular voluntarily.

There are a lot of them about already!

 

[AlterEgo]

Until smart phones get much better I can't see digital cards becoming that popular voluntarily.

There are already loads in circulation. I expect it will become the default method of fulfilment with physical cards a minority once all railcards become so deliverable.

 

[jon0844]

Until smart phones get much better I can't see digital cards becoming that popular voluntarily.

How good do they have to be? You can buy an Alcatel smartphone for around £30-40 and it will run apps just fine. In fact, the whole user experience will be not that dissimilar to a flagship phone costing £800+. It will just have a lower resolution display (and smaller too), very average camera and less 'grunt' for playing games.

It will run the railcard app just fine!

I was impressed that when I logged in, I was able to see an application I'd partially completed online. It seems very easy to add existing cards, and I assume that in a year from now it will come into its own by inviting owners to renew their card without ANY chance (or excuse) to forget.

Better still, RDG can now introduce new cards very easily. Imagine the savings in having to produce stacks of literature to go out to every single station and fill racks (perhaps with more racks being needed) with application forms. One day you can just have a general overview leaflet, and users will be informed of new cards via the app they're already using.

If RDG can work to enhancing the app to store tickets, which could perhaps be 'downloaded' using the ToD code you get when buying a ticket from any online service, you've really got it sorted.

 

[yorksrob]

How good do they have to be? You can buy an Alcatel smartphone for around £30-40 and it will run apps just fine. In fact, the whole user experience will be not that dissimilar to a flagship phone costing £800+. It will just have a lower resolution display (and smaller too), very average camera and less 'grunt' for playing games.

It will run the railcard app just fine!

I was impressed that when I logged in, I was able to see an application I'd partially completed online. It seems very easy to add existing cards, and I assume that in a year from now it will come into its own by inviting owners to renew their card without ANY chance (or excuse) to forget.

Better still, RDG can now introduce new cards very easily. Imagine the savings in having to produce stacks of literature to go out to every single station and fill racks (perhaps with more racks being needed) with application forms. One day you can just have a general overview leaflet, and users will be informed of new cards via the app they're already using.

If RDG can work to enhancing the app to store tickets, which could perhaps be 'downloaded' using the ToD code you get when buying a ticket from any online service, you've really got it sorted.

Well, for a start, not having crap battery would be the first thing - which seems to be beyond the bounds of technology.

Touch screens that don't dart about and highlight the wrong thing, however many times you jab at what you're trying to highlight.

But the fact is, even if you sort out all of these issues, a digital railcard will never work as well as a paper railcard which works without interaction as soon as you open up your ticket wallet and doesn't even require charging up in the first place. How can any 'app' compete with that simple utility !

 

[gswindale]

The main reason for "poor" battery life is due to the insistence of people having an "always on" data connection.

With my mobile, if I turn wi-fi and mobile data off, then it will likely last several days between charges.

If you're driving to the station to catch a train, do you need to have data on?

People need to think about how they use their phones to maximise battery life a bit rather than just wishing battery technology could be improved.

I am more likely to go out without my wallet than without my phone, so a digital railcard would be beneficial if I qualified.

The issues with both delivery methods are pretty much the same - mainly down to poor planning by the user.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk

 

[jon0844]

Well, for a start, not having crap battery would be the first thing - which seems to be beyond the bounds of technology.

Touch screens that don't dart about and highlight the wrong thing, however many times you jab at what you're trying to highlight.

But the fact is, even if you sort out all of these issues, a digital railcard will never work as well as a paper railcard which works without interaction as soon as you open up your ticket wallet and doesn't even require charging up in the first place. How can any 'app' compete with that simple utility !

Nobody is forced to buy any particular phone. I have multiple devices because of what I do, and many of them have 4,000mAh batteries which are good for an entire day of usage and then some. We're talking 6-7 hours of screen on time, so it's not as if the phone has to be kept switched off or with the brightness down to 1%.

People can of course buy a super-thin phone with a tiny battery and then suffer, but that's their choice. You can now get a phone with a 7,000mAh battery in it. That's bigger than some power banks!

I would also expect that most phones now have a number of power saving options, some of which can be set to kick in only when the battery gets to a certain level. Therefore you can use as you want, without restricting CPU performance, screen brightness, turning off data/Wi-Fi etc, and if it gets to your chosen level will cut the power consumption to stop the battery from dying.

On my Sony Xperia, I have Stamina set on all the time with the least 'heavy' throttling. I get an estimate of time remaining and it ranges from an extra 2 to 5 hours. The most over zealous power saving does cut the screen refresh rate and makes menu transitions quite clunky, but we're talking an extra FIVE hours!

Or I go for the ultra power saving mode that turns it into little more than a feature phone, for battery life measured in days not hours.

 

[FenMan]

I would be surprised if the Senior Railcard were to go digital only.
Many over 60s do not carry a mobile around with them or indeed own one.

 

[yorksrob]

Nobody is forced to buy any particular phone. I have multiple devices because of what I do, and many of them have 4,000mAh batteries which are good for an entire day of usage and then some. We're talking 6-7 hours of screen on time, so it's not as if the phone has to be kept switched off or with the brightness down to 1%.

People can of course buy a super-thin phone with a tiny battery and then suffer, but that's their choice. You can now get a phone with a 7,000mAh battery in it. That's bigger than some power banks!

I would also expect that most phones now have a number of power saving options, some of which can be set to kick in only when the battery gets to a certain level. Therefore you can use as you want, without restricting CPU performance, screen brightness, turning off data/Wi-Fi etc, and if it gets to your chosen level will cut the power consumption to stop the battery from dying.

On my Sony Xperia, I have Stamina set on all the time with the least 'heavy' throttling. I get an estimate of time remaining and it ranges from an extra 2 to 5 hours. The most over zealous power saving does cut the screen refresh rate and makes menu transitions quite clunky, but we're talking an extra FIVE hours!

Or I go for the ultra power saving mode that turns it into little more than a feature phone, for battery life measured in days not hours.

I've had lots of phones over the years and I wouldn't trust any of them, frankly. Of course, none of this will be an issue, so long as ATOC retains the choice to have ones card in the format of ones choice.

 

[Joe Paxton]

I've had lots of phones over the years and I wouldn't trust any of them, frankly. Of course, none of this will be an issue, so long as ATOC retains the choice to have ones card in the format of ones choice.

Of course, the rumour that physical Railcards will be withdrawn completely from sale on the 2nd January 2018 with only the Digital versions available in the future only seems to exist on these forums...

 

[jon0844]

I've had lots of phones over the years and I wouldn't trust any of them, frankly. Of course, none of this will be an issue, so long as ATOC retains the choice to have ones card in the format of ones choice.

The latest phones with 14 or 10nm process chipsets should be outlasting your usage needs by some margin, and giving plenty of warning if you do get carried away.

Fast charging on almost all new phones means that if you're worried, just pack a power bank with you. QuickCharge, SuperCharge, Dash charging, PumpExpress or whatever - all good to get you around 50% of charge back from 0% in 30 minutes or less.

Amazon will sell you decent ones from a tenner upwards.

(Whether you get a digital railcard or not, the above advice still stands!)

 

[maniacmartin]

It'd be much simpler if the digital railcard just came with a complimentary plastic version. If both had photo-ID embedded there'd be no risk of two people using both mediums at once, and customers could get the best of both worlds.

 

[jon0844]

I did think that this is how it was going to be done. Perhaps that will be offered later, at extra cost.

I could see how you apply on the app (the easiest and quickest way to get one) then pay £5 or something to have a physical card produced.

 

[WelshBluebird]

Not all railcards need photo ID though, so I suspect that is part of the reasoning.

 

[jon0844]

Not all railcards need photo ID though, so I suspect that is part of the reasoning.

But you could change that so they do. Then you can offer more flexibility and retain some security.

 

[island]

Out of interest, has anyone ever managed to get their company to pay for their railcard on expenses? It seems none are prepared to do it because even if it'll save them money as it can be used for personal travel it has tax implications that they'd rather not bother with.

A previous employer of mine was happy to reimburse Railcards if you were booking one or more business journeys and the total cost to the company would be less. Employees could continue to use the Railcard for whatever purpose thereafter.

 

[ooo]

But you could change that so they do. Then you can offer more flexibility and retain some security.

I imagine some people on here probably wouldn't be happy about that either

 

[Harbouring]

I imagine some people on here probably wouldn't be happy about that either

It seems strange that disabled and senior railcards don't have photos. That could easily be abused as anyone of the the same gender could be lent the card and with a disabled RC two people, neither of them the holder, could travel at railcard fares. Ok with a senior railcard you need to look older but anyone could use a disabled railcard.

 

[SaveECRewards]

It seems strange that disabled and senior railcards don't have photos. That could easily be abused as anyone of the the same gender could be lent the card and with a disabled RC two people, neither of them the holder, could travel at railcard fares. Ok with a senior railcard you need to look older but anyone could use a disabled railcard.

Obviously only the yoof are untrustworthy :roll:

I always thought the senior railcards had photos. Seems a bit odd otherwise, unless they unofficially don't mind people sharing cards if it gets them travelling more.

 

[jon0844]

It seems strange that disabled and senior railcards don't have photos. That could easily be abused as anyone of the the same gender could be lent the card and with a disabled RC two people, neither of them the holder, could travel at railcard fares. Ok with a senior railcard you need to look older but anyone could use a disabled railcard.

Yes, and given the benefits of the disabled railcard and the fact that staff would be mad to question the holder (see recent thread) it seems very open to abuse.

Of course, it would also be very hard to establish the level of fraud because of this.