As the article explains, because of mulitiple boarding gates, Amtrak will use on-board electronic ticket confirmation. I guess it would include some sort of scanning device, hand-held or other.
I am trying to figure some drawbacks. With E-Tickeing, how easy would it be to upgrade..say from a coach seat to a sleeper, or upgrade your present sleeper? What about last minute changes in your schedule..would that be a problem? How about the possiblity of a breakdown in wireless communication, on board, so that the scanning process would not work?
Overall, I like the idea of E-Ticketing. It would eliminate the hassle of fees and service charges for cancelled "hard-copy" tickets or for lost or stolen tickets.
Richard
Posts: 1909 | From: Santa Rosa | Registered: Jan 2004
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How can they they require i ds. this makes no sense to me. What about security and checking baaggage. Maybe I am just not thinking todaY but it seems to me more trouble than it's worth
Posts: 1577 | From: virginia | Registered: Jun 2005
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Richard, does this mean that there will not be any paper whatever generated from the transportation contract? Last time I checked, i.e. yesterday, airline travel still involves a printed Boarding Pass.
Posts: 9976 | From: Clarendon Hills, IL USA (BNSF Chicago Sub MP 18.71) | Registered: Apr 2002
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quote:Originally posted by Gilbert B Norman: Richard, does this mean that there will not be any paper whatever generated from the transportation contract? Last time I checked, i.e. yesterday, airline travel still involves a printed Boarding Pass.
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I wonder about the same thing, Mr. Norman. The last time I took an air flight, my travel agent downloaded printed airline tickets and Amtrak tickets, as my trip inlcluded both train and plane. However, I know you can download a "ticket" or boarding pass, with arlines, from your own computer. I also wonder about Train Lady's question with regard to checking baggage with the new E-tickets. I noticed, with Amtrak, on my trip to Montana, that some Amtrak stations required you to show a baggage claim tag before picking up your baggage, while other stations did not.
Richard
Posts: 1909 | From: Santa Rosa | Registered: Jan 2004
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I guess I'm definitely old school, but I like having a real ticket. I usually wait until a short time before traveling to have it issued by my friendly ticket agent in Florence in case there are any last minute changes.
I suppose someday we will have the 'ticket' only on our personal electronic device, like an Ipad, and the conductor will verify it on the reservations loaded into his device.
Somewhere I have a picture of tickets being held up from a long train trip in the 60's. It extended from eye level to almost the floor. Each railroad involved had its own portion of the ticket as did the Pullman Co. - and of course same for the return.
Posts: 2397 | From: Camden, SC | Registered: Mar 2006
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I have been to two different public events within the same number of months, one a concert and the other an NCAA Div I football game, in which the ticket was scanned and the entire ticket was retained by me.
I would think the greatest benefit would be, if the electronic gear can be deemed "reliable', is that much of the processing of lifted transportation would be minimized and that more timely management information regarding ridership would result. Presumably, there would be adequate safeguards to ensure the same ticket is not presented for transportation multiple times.
Regarding Mr. Palmland's historical comment, I too remember Coupon Tickets well. The longest one I recall for me was a 1962 PRR issued (they had 'em to The End) for a trip NY to Marion IA routed NY-PRR-Wash-RF&P-Rich-C&O-Cinci-L&N-Memphis-IC-Chgo-MILW-Marion. I once recall seeing a ten coupon "beanpole" for both my Mother's and Grandmother's Stamford Ormond Beach and return journey. Pullman was one coupon for each space occupied. Therefore, they had only a total of two coupons for their shared Bedroom in each direction.
Posts: 9976 | From: Clarendon Hills, IL USA (BNSF Chicago Sub MP 18.71) | Registered: Apr 2002
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Yukon it is not only picking up lugage but at least here in washington you have to show identifiation in order to check the luggage in the first place. the last time we went west we boarded in Alexandria. We had checked our luggage through to Denver and were taken out to the train in the electric cart. Before the conductor would allow us to board we had to show Ids.and our tickets.
Posts: 1577 | From: virginia | Registered: Jun 2005
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It's nice to know that Amtrak is moving into the 21st Century.
As for needing a paper boarding pass for airline travel, many carriers now allow you to use the image on your PDA in lieu of a paper copy. It's just scanned at the gate.
As for a breakdown in wi-fi connection on board, if they use a handheld device like those used on airplanes for onboard sales (many airlines now have totally cashless cabins) the information is not downloaded until the end of the flight or until the first base is reached.
Frank in sunny and warm SBA
Posts: 2160 | From: Santa Barbara, CA, USA | Registered: Oct 2003
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quote:Originally posted by sbalax: It's nice to know that Amtrak is moving into the 21st Century.
My sentiments exactly! Virtually any event I do these days (airline travel, movie theater tickets, Vegas show tickets, etc) have a bar code that is scanned by a hand-held device when you enter the facility. Virgin America has been cashless from the beginning for on-board purchases, and the flight attendants don't even touch your credit card. You order your own food/drink "on-demand" from your TV screen at your seat. Then you slide your own credit card through the slot on the TV itself. It's genius.
As far as how e-ticketing will work with Amtrak, maybe I'm missing something here, but why can't Amtrak just do the same thing as airlines? When you check-in online, the web page will ask you if you have any bags to check. If you say "Yes", then it asks how many bags, and you fill in the blank. Then you print out your boarding pass and it says right on there "2 checked bags". When you arrive at the train station, you go to the ticket counter and check your bag(s) with the agent. He/she then staples your claim ticket to your boarding pass. It really shouldn't be any more confusing than that. But then again, Amtrak likes to re-invent the wheel on a regular basis, so who knows what they might come up with?
Posts: 2355 | From: Pleasanton, CA | Registered: Apr 2007
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Well, it looks like I'm about to have my first experience with e-ticketing. The system simply defaulted to that option (as one likely surmises, I'm sort of the "want paper tickets mailed to me" varietal). I just booked CHI-350(27SEP)-ARB-350(28SEP)-DET-353(29SEP)-CHI; Business Class except ARB-DET.
It appears that the actual travel document is sent as an attachment and has what looks like some scan field upper left hand corner and that ONE document is valid for all three segments. Since I'm from the age of "don't lose your tickets as you don't want what follows", I'm not about to lose this document, but wasn't e-ticketing supposed to obviate that problem? Or must I print three copies for the Conductor to lift on each train?
Oh well, so far so good; tune in end of next month to find out how it went.
Posts: 9976 | From: Clarendon Hills, IL USA (BNSF Chicago Sub MP 18.71) | Registered: Apr 2002
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Computer printed airline Boarding Passes are nothing new for me. I'll print mine before I leave Sep 14 (KORD-KRIC) and the return Sep 16 either from my friends' house near Fredericksburg or the hotel.
Posts: 9976 | From: Clarendon Hills, IL USA (BNSF Chicago Sub MP 18.71) | Registered: Apr 2002
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I haven't used my phone as a boarding pass yet but may do so on my Southwest trip to Nashville next week.
Frank in sunny and still warm SBA
BTW for Smitty--
We just booked LAX-FLL for next April on Virgin America. They are having a two-day sale -- $165 each for the non-stop. That beats trying to non-rev on a Friday during Spring Break. The cruise is out of Miami but friends will pick us up for the trip down to the port. Hopefully well be able to upgrade to Main Cabin Select again.
Posts: 2160 | From: Santa Barbara, CA, USA | Registered: Oct 2003
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Our western trip spanned the changeover to e-tickets. While the trip to LA was on good old paper tickets, from there on it was E tickets. At SBA we picked them up at the station for a Surfliner, CS, CZ. Looked just like the old tickets except for the notation that it was an e-ticket and that it had no value.
On the Surfliner I had a chat with the conductor about them, as it was about the third day they'd been in use. He loved it. No more collecting masses of tickets, then the time consuming sorting and counting (and taking up tables in the lounge car).
All he did was pull out his gizmo (looked like an IPhone) and scanned it. We retained the 'ticket'. I presume the scan matched against the reservation already in the system and confirmed we were on board and a paid passenger.
He said passengers should love it too as it was not a big deal if you lost them as they have no value. Just get another using your reservation info. On the CS, I had to track an AC down when we left the train in Emeryville as he had not been around to scan. He didn't seem too concerned about it.
Posts: 2397 | From: Camden, SC | Registered: Mar 2006
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While I withhold judgement of the e-ticket system as a passenger for another 35 days, I cannot overlook at this time, the labor hours that will be saved (and jobs abolished) within Revenue Accounting activities.
While the paper tickets of course had bar coding enabling them to be scanned into account (imagine how it was "back in my day" - the army of clerks in the APA's bureau all lined up at their desks where they couldn't see the Bureau Head boss - but he could see you - and the Managers could see him - doing this work manually and making calculations with their Comptometers), they nevertheless had to be fed through the scanner and errors from mutilated tickets manually investigated.
Now if the system proves successful (and this is an area in which the expertise developed by airlines can directly relate to Amtrak), think of all the management information that will be available "real time".
This could prove to be a hot setup.
Posts: 9976 | From: Clarendon Hills, IL USA (BNSF Chicago Sub MP 18.71) | Registered: Apr 2002
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I took a quick Salisbury, NC - Raleigh roundtrip on the Piedmont and Carolinian a couple of weeks ago using an e-ticket purchased from the Quiktrak Machine at Salisbury.
I received a single slip of paper on the old ticket stock saying that the coupon had no cash value. My travel document (the same one) was scanned by the handheld device in each direction.
Seemed to speed the ticket checking process a little bit. Still did not stop the on-duty train crew (and an off-duty one deadheading) from camping out at two tables in the lounge car. The vending machine in the NCDOT automat car malfunctioned on me taking my dollar but failing to deliver the product, southbound train 79 was only 35 minutes late, and my Guest Rewards Points took a couple of days longer to post than they normally did before e-tickets.
In general, a pretty unremarkable Amtrak daytrip,
-------------------- David Pressley
Advocating for passenger trains since 1973!
Climbing toward 5,000 posts like the Southwest Chief ascending Raton Pass. Cautiously, not nearly as fast as in the old days, and hoping to avoid premature reroutes. Posts: 4203 | From: Western North Carolina | Registered: Feb 2004
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I bought the tickets for my trip for next week on June 22 -- they are not e-tickets, and I had to sign each ticket, just like I always have.
Posts: 2428 | From: Grayling, MI | Registered: Mar 2002
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Since I am worried that Hurricane Isaac might hit New Orleans and the Gulf Coast by next weekend, and that Trains 19 and/or 1 for 9/3 & 4 may be annulled, I have made (on-line) alternate reservations for the NYP-LAX portion of my upcoming trip. Instead of a NYP(19)-NOL(1)-LAX routing, I reserved a NYP(49)-CHI(3)-LAX routing (did I get that format right?)for the same days, and I was issued an e-ticket. If the hurricane doesn't affect N.O., I'll cancel the e-reservation next week and stick with the original plan. And yes, I booked roomettes in both the Lake Shore and the Chief -- I was surprised I was able to at this late date.
Posts: 2428 | From: Grayling, MI | Registered: Mar 2002
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I just used an e-ticket to check my bags for a trip to Denver. The only difference I saw was that the agent had no ticket folder to staple the tags to. She just gave them to me. She did ask for ID.
Posts: 28 | From: Alexandria VA 22315 | Registered: Apr 2001
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Well, this upcoming trip to Ann Arbor and Detroit trip is going to be my "imersion" into e-ticketing as the Detroit Symphony Orchestra in into it as well. In fact, just like Amtrak, their webpage defaults you to e-ticket. Not sure if DSO has a "smart phone" ticketing, but they do have some kind of "app". Well, for an outfit that I fear is not long for this world, at least they will be going out up to date with ticketing practices.
But something rare for public events nowadays - no "handling fee". Their confirmation showed up within five minutes of placing my order.
So far as University Music Society in Ann Arbor goes, I have had difficulty with their web page in the past, so I just phoned up their Box Office; for that I have a real traditional paper ticket.
Posts: 9976 | From: Clarendon Hills, IL USA (BNSF Chicago Sub MP 18.71) | Registered: Apr 2002
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