Railcard app planned by ATOC

[cjohnson]

http://www.raildeliverygroup.com/media-centre/press-releases/2015/661-2015-09-28.html

Railcards are set to be revolutionised under plans for a new digital app enabling passengers to store their cards on a smartphone and tablet.

More than 40 years after the first Railcard was introduced, the complete range of national Railcards will be available digitally as well as on paper or plastic in a move designed to make applying for and using the popular rail travel discount card simpler, quicker and more convenient.

The app will also mean that fewer customers are left frustrated at having left their Railcard at home, as they are more likely to remember their phone.

The Association of Train Operating Companies (ATOC) has launched a search for a supplier to come up with the technology with the aim of introducing the Railcard app in April next year.

A digital Railcard will look just like a paper or plastic version but will be quicker to apply for, with no need to queue at a station ticket office or to wait for a card in the post.

Once downloaded, the app won’t need an internet connection, and will be available offline to show to staff on the train or at the station.

It will sit on a smartphone or other smart device but the user will be able to retrieve it again even if their device is lost, stolen or replaced.

Won't include Gold Cards or Network Railcard.

Press release also provides some approximate numbers on railcards currently in circulation:

16-25 Railcard 1,524,948
Two Together Railcard 241,850
Family & Friends Railcard 379,138
Senior Railcard 1,405,315
Disabled Persons Railcard 184,611

 

[talldave]

Cue lots of "my battery was flat" threads in the Disputes section!

 

[swt_passenger]

...and others complaining that it didn't say anything to stop taking screen captures and sending them to all your mates?

Have they really thought through all the security implications?

 

[crehld]

...and others complaining that it didn't say anything to stop taking screen captures and sending them to all your mates?

Have they really thought through all the security implications?

My bus ticket app has a constantly changing graphic at the top and the date and time scrolls across the screen, which of course wouldn't show on a screen capture. Perhaps something similar can be designed for this app?

 

[jon0844]

My bus ticketing app, for all its faults, prevents screen shots being taken. It's a feature on Android and I assume on iOS too.

There are other things that can be done, such as dynamic barcodes that change every few seconds - and when read by a handheld scanner must contain the correct time/date (within a certain tolerance) or will be rejected - thus making a capture useless.

There are other things I won't go into now, but hopefully ATOC won't mess things up.

 

[James H]

The O2 Priority app also has animations on the offer redemption screens.

I saw someone being questioned because their screen was static when they tried to redeem the offer.

 

[Simon11]

I'm not sure why they can't just approach Trainline and ask for them to add this to their App? This would then be available on most TOC mobile App without having to add a new App to your Smartphone.

 

[embers25]

My bus ticketing app, for all its faults, prevents screen shots being taken. It's a feature on Android and I assume on iOS too.

There are other things that can be done, such as dynamic barcodes that change every few seconds - and when read by a handheld scanner must contain the correct time/date (within a certain tolerance) or will be rejected - thus making a capture useless.

There are other things I won't go into now, but hopefully ATOC won't mess things up.

Until recently Arriva Surreys ticket storing app required internet to show your ticket which was great considering many areas they serve have poor or no internet coverage and drivers weren't exactly exercising common sense about the issue.

 

[me123]

Sounds good, and it would be something I'd definitely use. Having said that, my current 16-25 railcard will be my last so I won't be able to partake

 

[jon0844]

I'm not sure why they can't just approach Trainline and ask for them to add this to their App? This would then be available on most TOC mobile App without having to add a new App to your Smartphone.

I'd hope it's open enough to be able to be incorporated within all existing apps (but that obviously introduces extra security issues to be overcome).

If you are going to get more people using m-tickets, then it would make sense that the app you use to show a ticket is also the one that shows the railcard, to save someone loading one app, clicking the relevant buttons, showing the ticket and then going to the railcard app to show the railcard...

And, both should be able to work offline, and there should also be a way to easily transfer a ticket/railcard from one device to another - for when people change phone (upgrade, lost phone and got a replacement, own more than one device) which means a way to manage tickets/cards and anything else on multiple devices.

All can be done, but why do I just imagine the actual end solution will be somewhat more basic and, erm, potentially crap?

 

[me123]

Cue lots of "my battery was flat" threads in the Disputes section!

Probably not as many as you'd think - plugs are becoming much more common now on trains so there's often plenty of opportunity to charge your phone.

 

[Haywain]

Probably not as many as you'd think - plugs are becoming much more common now on trains so there's often plenty of opportunity to charge your phone.

So instead of "my battery was flat" it will be "there wasn't a socket on the Pacer"!

 

[swt_passenger]

If they can't ching you for having a flat phone, they'll just get you for using the socket marked 'not for public use' anyway...

(Thinking of that recent high profile case...)

 

[talldave]

All can be done, but why do I just imagine the actual end solution will be somewhat more basic and, erm, potentially crap?

Because it's the rail industry, who have a glowing track record of incompetence in anything IT related?

I've tried their modern innovations and rapidly got bored with them. Gatwick Express e-tickets - try getting through the barrier with a "404 error"!! Southern's "Key" - waste of space, paper's much more flexible.

 

[jon0844]

The Intalink bus app (which is written by a company that has 'forced' its crap on other bus users around the UK) is exactly one reason why I suspect it will be flawed.

Now, the mobile ticketing part of the app isn't that bad (almost as if it's developed by someone else and just embedded in the app) but the overall package - awful.

And if you get an update for the app, don't be surprised if you have problems because it wants to 'call home' when you first run it after the update - and if you forgot to do that and are now offline, you'll not be able to get to the screen to activate/view an existing ticket.

 

[Agent_c]

...and others complaining that it didn't say anything to stop taking screen captures and sending them to all your mates?

Have they really thought through all the security implications?

That's not really a problem anymore. The First bus app has an animated box that transitions between the time and the daily code. Your screenshot will be detected as an obvious fake.

 

[trainophile]

All guards could be issued with one of those mobile battery packs and a couple of the most commonly used cables. No excuse for flat battery then!

I think it's a good idea, we have the technology and almost everyone carries a smart phone nowadays.

 

[PermitToTravel]

Sure, but how is this any better than what we have now?

 

[jon0844]

All guards could be issued with one of those mobile battery packs and a couple of the most commonly used cables. No excuse for flat battery then!

Don't give people a reason to shift their responsibility on to rail staff though! Or we'll have people saying that the RPI wouldn't give them a battery pack to charge their phone (and that in itself taking a good few minutes to allow the phone to turn on) and as such should have been let off.

 

[radamfi]

It is not such a big deal to have railcards on phones, given that you buy them infrequently, typically once a year. How about something that you buy on a regular basis, often when you are in a rush?

 

[alxndr]

I wouldn't use it if it comes to fruition, I don't go anywhere without my wallet, and don't find it a hardship at all to keep a railcard in there permanently, especially from next month onwards where I'll be renewing online and getting a single card. Perhaps many years in the future if Apple Pay (and any competitors versions) becomes the norm and kills off wallets then it'll be logical and worth the anxiety that the battery will die/phone freezes/phone is stolen before the return journey happens.

 

[Merseysider]

I wouldn't use it if it comes to fruition, I don't go anywhere without my wallet, and don't find it a hardship at all to keep a railcard in there permanently, especially from next month onwards where I'll be renewing online and getting a single card. Perhaps many years in the future if Apple Pay (and any competitors versions) becomes the norm and kills off wallets then it'll be logical and worth the anxiety that the battery will die/phone freezes/phone is stolen before the return journey happens.

Nor would I, if it meant replacing the traditional railcard. I've never travelled without my railcard and suspect the number of people who genuinely forget theirs is far lower than those who try it on. If I was able to keep the existing 'hard copy' and have a digital copy stored on the phone as a backup, then I might be interested.

 

[SS4]

I wouldn't use it if it comes to fruition, I don't go anywhere without my wallet, and don't find it a hardship at all to keep a railcard in there permanently, especially from next month onwards where I'll be renewing online and getting a single card. Perhaps many years in the future if Apple Pay (and any competitors versions) becomes the norm and kills off wallets then it'll be logical and worth the anxiety that the battery will die/phone freezes/phone is stolen before the return journey happens.

Battery power does not seem to be increasing at the same rate as processing power so the possibility of a dead battery when needed will increase rather than decrease. That said, it is a good idea to have a railcard issued on electronically as long as a paper version is still available in which case either can be used as a backup to the other.

What I don't like about this idea is that, especially with smartphones, it straddles the boundary of what is yours and what is not. For example the Arriva ticket app does not support rooted phones which is fine but it's also not for Arriva to say that I cannot travel if I can't use their app which is fine as long as I can use cash.

An NFC enabled card/chip issued by ATOC may be a better step but I am not sure how card clash could be avoided. Give onboard staff a reader.

 

[radamfi]

Are battery problems a significant issue in the numerous places across the world with bus and train tickets on mobile devices?

 

[SS4]

Are battery problems a significant issue in the numerous places across the world with bus and train tickets on mobile devices?

Couldn't tell you but I'd rather have a reloadable card like the Netherlands which you can beep in

 

[bb21]

All guards could be issued with one of those mobile battery packs and a couple of the most commonly used cables. No excuse for flat battery then!

I think it's a good idea, we have the technology and almost everyone carries a smart phone nowadays.

... or people could just carry one themselves.

I carry one with me around these days. No more sweating over where I would get the next opportunity to top-up.

 

[Flying Snail]

All guards could be issued with one of those mobile battery packs and a couple of the most commonly used cables.

A Taser?

 

[me123]

So instead of "my battery was flat" it will be "there wasn't a socket on the Pacer"!

The standard is that it is the responsibility of the passenger to ensure that they can display their ticket, or in this case railcard. It is therefore their responsibility to ensure that their phone has a sufficient charge.

 

[Dent]

This sounds like a solution in search of a problem, and introduces various problems of its own.

 

[jon0844]

Not if it was done alongside a national m-ticket system, which would actually make a lot of sense. But this sounds like a standalone app, which will be a major PITA for some.