SWR Touch Smartcard

[winks]

Hello all, after some advice and no doubt this would be the best place to come, or maybe a SWR ticket office (main one) I am getting fed up with paper travelcards being demagnetised at the Gateline seems to be an issue with Day Travelcards 1-6 certainly for me anyway.

Have been considering SWR touch Smartcard but have some questions;

1. Can I pre load it with cash to spend as I like - I.e lump sum say £300

2. Does SWR Touch work on all London Underground readers and bus readers

3. What happens with a journey that requires a change of trains to a non SWR service - I.e BSK > Brighton which then becomes Southern. Can I tap out at Brighton with this card ?

4. Do I pre load journeys on the card or is it truly tap and go ?

Thanks !

 

[Mainline421]

1. Can I pre load it with cash to spend as I like - I.e lump sum say £300

You could, but now you don't need to, it starts at £0 then charges you the next day for Tap2Go, like using contactless.

2. Does SWR Touch work on all London Underground readers and bus readers

Yes, if a Travelcard is loaded (but no Tap2Go)

3. What happens with a journey that requires a change of trains to a non SWR service - I.e BSK > Brighton which then becomes Southern. Can I tap out at Brighton with this card ?

No, but hopefully GBR will merge it with KeyGo etc.

4. Do I pre load journeys on the card or is it truly tap and go ?

Both. You can pre-load journeys for most of the UK (including Travelcards), and also use Tap2Go within the zone https://www.southwesternrailway.com/train-tickets/tap2go

 

[Vexed]

There are two ways to use a smartcard - either pre-purchase tickets and load them onto the card (you can have up to 5 at once) or use pay as you go (PAYG) where no pre-purchasing is needed, which for SWR is called Tap2Go. Tap2Go is exclusively for SWR services within the Tap2Go area. You can have both loaded onto the same smartcard (except flexi season tickets).

If you pre-purcahse a ticket than the card purely acts as a medium with an interoprable (ish) standard called ITSO, which will work accross England and Wales (not ScotRail). You can use any companies smartcard on any other operator with pre-loaded tickets (except ScotRail).

The exception to this is PAYG schemes, which can only be loaded onto the companies own smartcard and can only be used on their own services (limited exceptions apply, none that affect SWR).

I am getting fed up with paper travelcards being demagnetised at the Gateline seems to be an issue with Day Travelcards 1-6 certainly for me anyway.

You're not the only one! And some gates are broken don't take paper tickets either. So for your primary use case of Travelcards it's NOT tap and go. You can buy Travelcards on a smartcard from SWR ticket machines, ticket offices, or the SWR app where you can load it onto the smartcard by tapping the back of your phone.

Just note that you can't get Evening Out or Sunday Out travelcards on a smartcard.

 

[winks]

Oh wow I didn’t know you could tap the back of your phone to load a journey. That’s good to know.

I’ve religiously stuck with paper travel cards but if SWR touch can do the same then that’s great for me.

To clarify tap and go works in the SWR region that we know all about.

Travelcards which is my common type of travel would be bought in the app and then loaded on to the card ?

Can I assume tap and go and Touch require the same plastic card ?

 

[Vexed]

Travelcards which is my common type of travel would be bought in the app and then loaded on to the card ?

Anytime Day Travelcards and Off Peak Day Travelcards can be loaded onto the card from the app yes. But for Evening Out and Sunday Out Travelcards this isn't possible.

Can I assume tap and go and Touch require the same plastic card ?

Every SWR smartcard is branded Touch. Tap2Go is a product that can be loaded onto a Touch smartcard. You can have one smartcard with both Tap2Go and pre-purchased tickets or you can order a second one for free in your account and use seperate smartcards but there's not much point.

 

[Mainline421]

Travelcards which is my common type of travel would be bought in the app and then loaded on to the card ?

Can I assume tap and go and Touch require the same plastic card ?

You can also load tickets from an SWR TVM, and yes it's the same card

 

[winks]

Can you load tickets bought through the Uber app onto Touch?

And Evening out and Sunday Out tickets are my most type also so how do these get loaded on ?

 

[Watershed]

Can you load tickets bought through the Uber app onto Touch?

And Evening out and Sunday Out tickets are my most type also so how do these get loaded on ?

No, Uber only fulfils orders to e-ticket or ToD (Ticket on Departure, i.e. collecting tickets from a ticket machine at the station).

As mentioned, you can't load Evening Out or Sunday Out tickets to a smartcard. Smartcard fulfilment is not enabled for these ticket types.

 

[winks]

Also, evening out travelcards are not available to purchase through the SWR App or Uber before the actual day of travel. Is there a reason for this - seems quite frustrating navigating all this.

If evening out travel is not available on SWR touch then theres no point obtaining a Smartcard…

 

[fandroid]

I got an SWR Touch card for the very reason you give - fed up with paper Travelcards demagnetising. The alternative for me was E-ticket to Waterloo and Oyster from there, but I find the single mode for all of my journey to be really convenient, plus the real simplicity of loading from my phone during the purchase process. Add in the fact that there's no battery to run out of charge at embarrassing moments. The lack of Evening/Sunday Out tickets is a glorious pain in the posterior, but my regular weekly journey needs an Offpeak Day Return, so I use it for that plus many other one off SWR journeys.

The loading from the phone requires the SWR App and is instant at any time before your journey. I believe that loading tickets for journeys that cross boundaries (say to nearby GWR stations) needs to be done at station ticket machines and the purchase has to happen at least 1 hour before the planned journey. Others will correct me if I've got this detail wrong, as I've only done that once

 

[winks]

Wondering if cross boundary journeys will work as you say, when travelling to southern terminus. Happy to try this and see what happens…

Although at the minute I’ve obtained my smartcard today from a ticket office however when I log in to my SWR account I’m unable to register the smartcard in the menu. It says “there’s been a problem”

Oh dear ! Plus I need to add my network railcard somehow !

 

[Edvid]

Perhaps there's a slight delay between the card being activated (with your details) and the wider system recognising its "identity" as a valid one.

As for your Railcard, it only needs adding to your SWR account if you're using Tap2Go. For fixed tickets you simply select the discount, like you do for paper / barcode tickets.

 

[SWT_USER]

Both. You can pre-load journeys for most of the UK (including Travelcards), and also use Tap2Go within the zone https://www.southwesternrailway.com/train-tickets/tap2go

Can you load a one-day off peak travel card from a station outside the zones (Ashford in this case) to a smart card, or just a season ticket? I may be missing something but I can't see how.

The card has a Network Railcard discount attached to it.

 

[Haywain]

Can you load a one-day off peak travel card from a station outside the zones (Ashford in this case) to a smart card, or just a season ticket?

A day ticket can be loaded to a smartcard subject to the specific ticket and flow being enabled for smartcard fulfilment.

 

[SWT_USER]

A day ticket can be loaded to a smartcard subject to the specific ticket and flow being enabled for smartcard fulfilment.

Thanks - I wonder if I am going wrong somewhere then because even an Ashford to Waterloo off peak day return is only giving me the option of e-ticket delivery in the app.

Never really looked at it before as I use tap2go for journeys to Waterloo but the option to load an Ashford - zones 1-6 travel card would be useful to avoid needing a paper ticket

 

[fandroid]

Apologies if this is a silly question - but are you using the SWR app?

 

[Mainline421]

Can you load a one-day off peak travel card from a station outside the zones (Ashford in this case) to a smart card, or just a season ticket? I may be missing something but I can't see how.

The TVM can do it

 

[fandroid]

Thanks - I wonder if I am going wrong somewhere then because even an Ashford to Waterloo off peak day return is only giving me the option of e-ticket delivery in the app.

Never really looked at it before as I use tap2go for journeys to Waterloo but the option to load an Ashford - zones 1-6 travel card would be useful to avoid needing a paper ticket

I have just tried the same journey with Network Railcard applied on the SWR App.

Bizarrely, when showing ticketing options it only apparently offers collection at station. However, I selected that and it then offered me Load to Smartcard!

I have had the same experience with only e-ticket being offered and then after selecting that, getting the Smartcard option offered too.

The moral seems to be : try everything up to the point of actually paying!

 

[SWT_USER]

The TVM can do it

The idea is avoiding the trip to a TVM ideally!

I have just tried the same journey with Network Railcard applied on the SWR App.

Bizarrely, when showing ticketing options it only apparently offers collection at station. However, I selected that and it then offered me Load to Smartcard!

I have had the same experience with only e-ticket being offered and then after selecting that, getting the Smartcard option offered too.

The moral seems to be : try everything up to the point of actually paying!

Thanks. I have got as far as paying but the only option available is e-ticket (screenshot below of pre-payment page on SWR app).

I can't get the app to offer me an off peak travelcard (with Railcard discount) at all (second screenshot shows SWR app with no fares available).

Does it matter that I have tap2go on the smart card?

 

[winks]

Oh dear, why is everything so complicated? Ashford being Southeastern; I assume; means a non SWR station can be added then? I’m going to use my SWR smart card on southern services next year hopefully (not Tap2Go)

As an aside - my issue with being unable to register my smart card to my online SWR account was down to the fact that the ticket office missed a digit off my email address when setting the card up! Be careful ! The card is linked via email so if they get this wrong the card is dead. I had to return to the ticket office and they re-printed the card.

Just for info.

 

[SWT_USER]

Oh dear, why is everything so complicated? Ashford being Southeastern; I assume; means a non SWR station can be added then? I’m going to use my SWR smart card on southern services next year hopefully (not Tap2Go)

As an aside - my issue with being unable to register my smart card to my online SWR account was down to the fact that the ticket office missed a digit off my email address when setting the card up! Be careful ! The card is linked via email so if they get this wrong the card is dead. I had to return to the ticket office and they re-printed the card.

Just for info.

I should have specified Ashford Surrey (between Feltham and Staines), not Ashford International.

Card is linked to my email - I get the receipts from tap2go the following day. Might try SWR's help team tomorrow

 

[Haywain]

Where this gets ridiculously complicated is that TOC websites* will only sell smartcard tickets for loading onto their own 'brand' of smartcards. A TVM or ticket office doesn't have this restriction. This is something which the industry has collectively cocked up over the years, so that smartcards which can be used anywhere can't actually be used everywhere. It's a nonsense.

*Third party retailers don't sell smartcard tickets.

 

[winks]

Where this gets ridiculously complicated is that TOC websites* will only sell smartcard tickets for loading onto their own 'brand' of smartcards. A TVM or ticket office doesn't have this restriction. This is something which the industry has collectively cocked up over the years, so that smartcards which can be used anywhere can't actually be used everywhere. It's a nonsense.

*Third party retailers don't sell smartcard tickets.

In a way that’s actually good from a personal perspective. I’m happy to turn up and buy at the station - using a TVM.

I’ve found so far that there are no staff that will talk you through it I’ve had to “play around”

 

[paul1609]

Where this gets ridiculously complicated is that TOC websites* will only sell smartcard tickets for loading onto their own 'brand' of smartcards. A TVM or ticket office doesn't have this restriction. This is something which the industry has collectively cocked up over the years, so that smartcards which can be used anywhere can't actually be used everywhere. It's a nonsense.

*Third party retailers don't sell smartcard tickets.

It seems to be getting even worse, previously I could buy travelcards from southeastern stations (tonbridge and headcorn) tvms and load them on my key card but from about August onwards the transaction just fails. Even Southern machines on Marshlink no longer seem able to do it. I've more or less given up using the key for other than keygo.

 

[SWT_USER]

I can't find a way to buy a travelcard from Ashford (Surrey) at all on the SWR site. Uber is happy to sell me the ticket and lists it as an option when I search for any station within the zones

 

[winks]

SWT-USER
Can you try this, it seemed to work for me:

Ashford (Surrey) > London Waterloo

Don’t put in travelcard 1-6 just yet

Then select the off peak day travelcard option £20.60 from the list

Then change delivery method to “load your smartcard now”

 

[Mainline421]

The idea is avoiding the trip to a TVM ideally!

Thanks. I have got as far as paying but the only option available is e-ticket (screenshot below of pre-payment page on SWR app).

I can't get the app to offer me an off peak travelcard (with Railcard discount) at all (second screenshot shows SWR app with no fares available).

Does it matter that I have tap2go on the smart card?

If it's not a Travelcard then you're better off using Tap2Go.

 

[SWT_USER]

SWT-USER
Can you try this, it seemed to work for me:

Ashford (Surrey) > London Waterloo

Don’t put in travelcard 1-6 just yet

Then select the off peak day travelcard option £20.60 from the list

Then change delivery method to “load your smartcard now”

Thanks - found the travelcard option but still only has 'collect from the station ' as an option

 

[fandroid]

The idea is avoiding the trip to a TVM ideally!

Thanks. I have got as far as paying but the only option available is e-ticket (screenshot below of pre-payment page on SWR app).

I can't get the app to offer me an off peak travelcard (with Railcard discount) at all (second screenshot shows SWR app with no fares available).

Does it matter that I have tap2go on the smart card?

You left the selection on Single (the automatic option with the SWR app). You have to shift it to Return to enable purchase of a Travelcard.

Here's the process I have just followed:

These are screenshots of the various stages of the Smartcard Ticket purchase through to the point where I could have validated the Smartcard I was to use for this ticket purchase. I have omitted the selection of actual trains.

The next stage doesn't actually load the ticket. That has to be done after payment (of course!)

 

[SWT_USER]

Thank you @fandroid. The option is there for me now on my phone (as the only option), whereas yesterday it would only give me the option to collect from station. I don't think I was doing anything different yesterday but the main thing is it works!

As a (fairly niche) follow up. If I load the travel card ticket from my phone, can I start my journey anywhere within the zones or does it have to be from a SWR statiion?