Why do/did tickets to/via Doncaster have a . at the end?

[TreborTrebor]

I've just been told that any tickets going to or via Doncaster always had a full stop after the word 'Doncaster'.

Does anyone know the reason for this anomoly? Does it still happen?

Thanks.

 

[ForTheLoveOf]

I've just been told that any tickets going to or via Doncaster always had a full stop after the word 'Doncaster'.

Does anyone know the reason for this anomoly? Does it still happen?

Thanks.

Can you upload a picture of the ticket in question?

 

[Wallsendmag]

Whitby is the same, I have no idea why.

Andrew

 

[TreborTrebor]

Can you upload a picture of the ticket in question?

I've never had one, but was told earlier that this was the case by someone who used to regularly travel to Doncaster. I'm just wondering out of idle curiosity really as to why this would be done.

 

[TreborTrebor]

Whitby is the same, I have no idea why.

Andrew

Interesting, I wonder if it actually signifies anything, or if it's simply a case of some staff putting a full stop at the end when entering the station names onto the system and others not.

 

[Paul Kelly]

Could it be a signifier of a "lead station" for fares clustering purposes, which would have been used as the station to "use fares to/from" in the old paper fares manuals?

 

[Dren Ahmeti]

They didn’t on my tickets:

 

[Hadders]

I thought I’d was an anti fraud measure to make it harder for tickets to be altered.

 

[alistairlees]

I don't recall station names having full stops after them. But London Zones do (in some cases) have an asterisk after them to prevent you from adding another zone, though it would hardly seem to be convincing.

 

[Hadders]

Ah yes, it was an asterisk rather than a full stop.

 

[Surreytraveller]

Is it to prevent someone adding something to the location to make it look like a location it isn't?

 

[alistairlees]

Is it to prevent someone adding something to the location to make it look like a location it isn't?

Yes it is

 

[_toommm_]

If it's anti fraud, it may be to stop any add on fares to the airport, which is called 'Doncaster Airport Bus' on tickets

 

[alistairlees]

If it's anti fraud, it may be to stop any add on fares to the airport, which is called 'Doncaster Airport Bus' on tickets

Big revenue risk there...

 

[_toommm_]

Big revenue risk there...

It's only £4 for a return I realise, I was just making a possible suggestion what with the answers up-thread about anti fraud...

 

[TreborTrebor]

So the most likely explanation is that it was an anti fraud measure, I say was as Dren has shown that it doesn't appear to still happen.

This begs the question as to why they stopped it for Doncaster and why wasn't it used at other stations?

 

[Surreytraveller]

So the most likely explanation is that it was an anti fraud measure, I say was as Dren has shown that it doesn't appear to still happen.

This begs the question as to why they stopped it for Doncaster and why wasn't it used at other stations?

I'm going by my out of date rusty memory, as its been years since I've worked in a ticket office, but I think it was only placed after a name if something could have been added to it to make a ticket valid to another location. For example, Purley might have '*' added to it (I don't know whether it has or not, I'm only guessing) to prevent someone adding 'Oaks' afterwards, to prevent someone doctoring the ticket. Whereas somewhere like Doncaster doesn't have another destination with the same name that can be followed by something, so doesn't need a '*' symbol.
I imagine 'Par' is followed by '*' in order to prevent someone adding 'bold', 'k Street', 'tick' or some other suffix.

 

[ForTheLoveOf]

I'm going by my out of date rusty memory, as its been years since I've worked in a ticket office, but I think it was only placed after a name if something could have been added to it to make a ticket valid to another location. For example, Purley might have '*' added to it (I don't know whether it has or not, I'm only guessing) to prevent someone adding 'Oaks' afterwards, to prevent someone doctoring the ticket. Whereas somewhere like Doncaster doesn't have another destination with the same name that can be followed by something, so doesn't need a '*' symbol.
I imagine 'Par' is followed by '*' in order to prevent someone adding 'bold', 'k Street', 'tick' or some other suffix.

As far as I'm aware, this is usually now only done on tickets that print in the "old style", and they do it for any station name shorter than, I think 14 or 15 characters.

 

[Surreytraveller]

As far as I'm aware, this is usually now only done on tickets that print in the "old style", and they do it for any station name shorter than, I think 14 or 15 characters.

The last time I sold a ticket, the price of a One Day Travelcard was less than a fiver, the same price as a packet of cigarettes. These days, cigarettes are cheaper than a One Day Travelcard!

 

[CaptainHaddock]

Years ago when I worked in a TOC call centre, the Tribute booking system we used defaulted to the add-on location for any station that had a nearby airport. The only way to stop it was to add a full stop to the station name.

Even though Tribute must have long been superceded, I'm wondering if this is still the case

 

[_toommm_]

I'm going by my out of date rusty memory, as its been years since I've worked in a ticket office, but I think it was only placed after a name if something could have been added to it to make a ticket valid to another location. For example, Purley might have '*' added to it (I don't know whether it has or not, I'm only guessing) to prevent someone adding 'Oaks' afterwards, to prevent someone doctoring the ticket. Whereas somewhere like Doncaster doesn't have another destination with the same name that can be followed by something, so doesn't need a '*' symbol.
I imagine 'Par' is followed by '*' in order to prevent someone adding 'bold', 'k Street', 'tick' or some other suffix.

Doncaster has the airport bus

 

[Haywain]

Even though Tribute must have long been superceded, I'm wondering if this is still the case

Tribute is still going, but not for too much longer.

 

[TreborTrebor]

Years ago when I worked in a TOC call centre, the Tribute booking system we used defaulted to the add-on location for any station that had a nearby airport. The only way to stop it was to add a full stop to the station name.

Even though Tribute must have long been superceded, I'm wondering if this is still the case

I bet you're right and that this was done to prevent the default add on

 

[Wallsendmag]

Tribute is still going, but not for too much longer.

Guess what I’m up to next week

 

[Wallsendmag]

Years ago when I worked in a TOC call centre, the Tribute booking system we used defaulted to the add-on location for any station that had a nearby airport. The only way to stop it was to add a full stop to the station name.

Even though Tribute must have long been superceded, I'm wondering if this is still the case

You didn’t navigate to the menu that said “Show only Rail locations” then